The New Ones
by Tirol78
Summary: Jack & Sam, Dan & Janet ships. A woman from the future calling herself Jolinar shows up at the SGC and knows too much. AmunRe is here. Ch. 43 up.
1. Chapter 1

**Revisions are done, check out the summary at the beginning of chapter 41.**

**Title: The New Ones**

**Time: End of season 5, after "Menace." Proceeds past season 5 and will stop... somewhere. Most events post-season 5 will be very different or not happen at all.**

**Style: Adventure, Drama, Romance**

**Ships: Sam/Jack, Daniel/Janet**

**Rating: T**

**Please read and review! Thanks.**

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**Chapter 1**

Ian glanced at the display screen to his left. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath. He moved his fingers rapidly on the touch screens that surrounded him. "Jolinar!"

Jolinar came running into the small cockpit of the ship. She rested a hand on Ian's shoulder as she looked at the display he pointed to. "How many?" She asked as she lazily traced the symbol on the shoulder of his black jacket, an upside down "V" with two solid circles above it.

He looked up at her and shook his head, mystified. Jolinar could see the fear in his soft blue eyes. She reached out her handand gently trailed her fingertips across his cheek. He wasn't afraid to die. She knew that. They were both soldiers and expected to die on this mission, but he was afraid of failure. He knew what this mission meantto all of them, especially her. The base of their Solari allies was supposed to be secret, but obviously someone had found out about it.

He looked back to the screen and pointed at the scans of the ships. "Two Trien cruisers and one Ardai destroyer in geosynchronous orbitabove Detri," he said.

Jolinar frowned and leaned down to study the screen more closely. "Ardai? That's impossible, Ian. Ardai don't make incursions into our universe with ships. They only send covert teams."

Ian shrugged. "Look at the scan, Jolinar. The ship matches the records the Solari gave us. It's amazing to actually see one. How the hell did they find out about the base?"

"Solari dissidents. The situation within the empire is breaking down," Jolinar replied definitively. She tilted her head to the side and bit her bottom lip as she considered this development. "Are we going to be able to reach the base?"

"If I transfer all the power from weapons to shields, maybe I can keep us from getting blown apart the second we uncloak," he said as he tapped some codes onto one of the displays, trying to figure out how to force as much power as possible into the shields.

Jolinar sighed heavily and crossed her arms. "How long till we reach the planet?"

"Thirty-seven minutes. Let's hope the Solari can keep them at bay till we arrive," he said, glancing at her with a poignant smile, staring into her green eyes. "So, without any luck we'll be dead in an hour."

Jolinar nodded and a reached a hand towards him. "Put it on autopilot, Ian."

He raised a questioning eyebrow. "This mission is everything. I need to stay here. Every minute I prepare increases our ability to succeed. I can't risk wasting one minute that might save your life."

"My life," she said mockingly. "It's just borrowed time, Ian." She licked her lips tentatively and swallowed hard. "We will succeed. We have no other choice. Please, Ian. This is it. This is all we have left." She blinked back the tears that threatened to betray her. She had promised herself she would be strong. Weakness was a luxury they could not allow themselves.

He acquiesced and tapped his fingers on a small touch display on the arm of his chair. He took Jolinar's offered hand and stood up, following her out of the cockpit. The ship's compartments were cramped. It was a small and quick attack frigate. Built by the Solari, the ship was meant for war not comfort. She pulled him into their bunk room, though it was barely big enough for the two of them. She turned to him and sought his lips hungrily as she pressed a touch screen by the door, causing a long narrow slab of metal to emerge from the wall. Only a thin mattress covered the one-person bunk they'd shared for months in their covert missions in the war against the Goa'Uld and Trien.

He felt her nails trailing on his neck as she fell back on the bed, pulling him on top of her. "Jolinar," he whispered breathlessly, running his fingers through her short, spiked, blonde hair and kissing her face. Her svelte body anxiously writhed beneath him.

Jolinar smiled as he whispered into her ear, beautiful words of a language he always used while they made love. She didn't know the language herself, knew it was just one of many his father had taught him as a child, but she understood what he meant. A genuine laugh came from her lips as he tugged at the neck of her white bodysuit, baring her right shoulder. She slid her arm free from the skintight suit and sighed contentedly as he kissed her shoulder and down her arm. He clasped her hand and pulled her fingers to his lips. He ran his fingers over the implant set flush with her skin on the bottom of her wrist. The implant, an upside down "V" with two solid circles above it, was of a dark blue metal and was cool to the touch and was matched by one on her other wrist, one on the back of her neck, and one on the back of each of her calves. Ian had identical implants on the same five points of his body. He gently traced the "V" on her wrist with his fingertip and looked at her, hope and despair intermingling in his eyes.

"Everything for Vani," he whispered.

"For Vani," she replied softly and slid her arm around his neck, pulling him back to her. "We have to save our world, but first let's save each other."

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Please review! Anonymous reviews welcome. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The proximity alarm, alerting them that they were nearing the planet, went off far more quickly than they wanted. Jolinar pressed her naked body closer to Ian, hugging him tightly. She knew this was probably the end. One, if not both, of them would probably die down there on the planet.

Ian kissed her tenderly on the temple. "It's time to go, Jolinar." He slid off the bed and grabbed his clothes from the floor.

Ian was already dressed and in the cockpit by the time Jolinar forced herself to throw off the blanket and grab her bodysuit. She quickly dressed and stepped out into the narrow hallway. She stopped for a moment and looked back into the bunkroom. This was the last time she would leave that room, the room where she had spent so many nights alone with Ian in the cold darkness space. Shaking her head in a vain attempt to clear her thoughts she headed to the cockpit.

"We've got a bigger problem than I thought," Ian said, when he heard her footsteps behind him. "The ships are still here, but they're no longer firing on the planet."

Jolinar frowned. "That means they've infiltrated the base."

Ian nodded in agreement. "You need to go without me, Jolinar," he said without looking at her.

Her face grew pale, and she rested her hands on her hips, regarding him uneasily. "What the hell is that about, Ian? I thought we were in this together."

He looked up at her, some anger in his face that she wasn't trusting him. "I'll draw the attention of the ships. You'll have a better chance if those ships aren't focusing all their scans on the base. If someone has betrayed us, they may know we're coming. We need to split up."

Jolinar shook her head the entire time he was talking. She didn't want to go anywhere without him. She wanted them to make it to the Stargate together. "I can't do this alone, Ian. I need you. You don't need to worry about the ships. We'll transport directly into the gate room."

Ian shook his head and let out a deep sigh. "The facility has taken significant damage. The energy from the assault hasn't completely dissipated, and the facility's energy systems are going haywire. It's going to mess with the teleporter. I'll have to transport you into an area farther from the gate that is more stable. Once you're at the gate, you can send a beacon that will strengthen the teleport signal and allow me to transport to you."

"Fine, but you better stay alive," she replied tenderly, smoothing his short brown hair. "I do need you."

He stood up and quickly pulled her against his chest, wrapping her in his arms. "You can't wait but a few seconds, Jolinar. Everything depends on this. Get to the gate, send the beacon, open the gate and go. I'll follow if I can, but you'll need to set explosives to the gate. Just give me fifteen seconds. If I'm alive, that will be enough."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. He tasted her tears, and then reluctantly pushed her from him. "You have to go, Jol."

She nodded and gave him a weak smile. From her five implants a dark blue liquid spread over her skin and bodysuit until it had enveloped her entire body and then solidified into a metallic second skin. All this happened in only a matter of seconds. She looked at Ian, and for a moment the metal skin retracted from her head, so that he could see her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but he silenced her with a frown.

"No goodbyes, Jolinar. I love you," he said, his head aching with despair and anger. He touched one of the screens and Jolinar vanished in a flash of white light.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Jolinar could feel the blood flowing out of her as she ran down the long, dark, smoke-filled hallway. Her personal force field was completely gone, and the Ardai and Trien were in close pursuit. Her energy reserves were running low. Infiltrating the base hadn't gone as easy as she'd planned. She couldn't even call it an infiltration, rather an all out assault. The Ardai had adapted their scanners to detect her more quickly than she'd expected. She had been prepared for and expected the Trien, Amun-Re's personal assassins, but she had expected Ardai on the planet. She had thought her cloak would last longer, but she had to make it to the gate and fix this. Dying Solari lay all about her, their ice-like bodies glowing with a faint blue luminescence. She knew not even the nanites, which they depended on to keep them alive, could repair the damage to their bodies quickly enough before they died. She could only hope that she accomplished her mission. These Solari had given their lives to defend the facility as long as they could, hopefully long enough for Jolinar to access the gate. She tried to rest for just a moment, collapsing against a piece of stone rubble.

Her vision red-shifted for a moment. That was a warning that her energy was getting too low. The Stargate would require what little energy she had to function properly. She needed to send one last message before shutting down her communication system. The communicator built into her armor made the connection to the ship, and she said gently, "I know we said 'no goodbyes', but goodbye, Ian. If I don't make it to the gate… tell them I'm sorry. I love you."

She shut down the link before he could respond, if he was even alive to get the message. If she heard his voice she wasn't sure she could go on. She groaned and cursed as she shut down the blue armor that covered her from head to toe. The armor began vanishing, starting with her fingers and toes until it had retreated completely into her implants.

An energy blast suddenly caught her in the back, and she bit her lip until she drew blood to avoid crying out. She knew they probably could've killed her with that blast, but they wanted her alive. She pulled a small silver sphere from her belt and dropped it as she moved around the rubble and down the dark hall as quickly as she could. The explosion behind her threw her against the wall and shards of stone sliced into her left calf. A broken cry escaped her cut and chapped lips. She was a soldier and was used to pain, but she'd never been hurt this badly. She was dying. She gathered herself up and grabbed a twisted metal pole laying nearby. Using the pole as a makeshift cane, she limped down the hall. Without her armor's vision enhancements she was unable to see far through the clouds of dust, but hopefully the explosion had momentarily cut off the enemy. She coughed violently, drops of blood running down her chin.

The gate room was a welcome sight. Tears flowed down her cheeks from the pain that wracked her body. Her body had been severely injured even before deactivating her armor. She pressed her finger on a small device on her belt, activating the beacon. Tossing the metal pole aside she fell upon the steps leading up to the gate and crawled towards it. As she laid one hand on the innermost ring of the Stargate's three concentric rings, she reached into a small pocket on her belt with the other and wrapped her hand tightly around the rolled piece of paper inside. The blood began to drain more rapidly from her body as she used even the energy of her nanites, which had been desperately fighting to heal her heavily wounded body, to activate the gate. She smiled when she heard the soft clicks the gate made as it locked in the coordinates. The Ardai and Trien were coming. The wormhole appeared and the soft blue glow illuminated her dark green eyes and bloodstained blonde hair. She dropped her hand from the gate and pressed a handful of the small silver spheres to it which attached themselves firmly to the surface. She gave one last quick glance around the room, terror increasing its grip on her, but she struggled against it. After pressing on a small device on her belt and trying not to pass out, she pulled herself through the gate.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Jack swirled his spoon around his bowl of Froot Loops and stared absent-mindedly into the milk.

Daniel took a drink of his coffee and, after noting to himself it tasted worse than, usual glanced over at Jack. "You finding the mysteries of life in there, Jack?"

Jack glanced up. "Froot Loops are a mystery, Daniel. They're all different colors, but they taste the same. Kind've a rip off if you ask me."

"That's rather philosophical of you."

Jack dropped his spoon and pointed his finger at Daniel. "Don't use big words this early in the morning, Daniel. What have I told you about that?"

Before he could offer a proper response the sirens went off and a voice announced, "Unscheduled off world activation."

Jack rushed out of the commissary followed by Daniel. They quickly arrived in the control room where General Hammond had just arrived.

"Any signal, Sergeant?" Hammond asked.

"No, Sir," Walter replied.

"Close the iris," Hammond ordered.

"Wait, Sir, there comes the signal," Walter said. He glanced up at Hammond. "SG-1, General."

Hammond turned to Jack who merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't know what to tell you, General. Unless Teal'c has been kidnapped, unlikely, then none of my people are off world."

Hammond grabbed the microphone on the table. "High alert!"

More soldiers rushed into the gate room and took up positions around the ramp with weapons ready.

They all watched and were surprised when a woman fell out of the gate and landed on the ramp. She moved slowly, struggling to her knees.

The soldiers tensed up, locking their aim on the woman.

"Do not move," Hammond shouted into the microphone. "Put your hands in plain view and identify yourself!"

"She looks really hurt," Daniel said, studying the woman.

She had her back to the airmen and sat on there on her knees watching the wormhole. "Ian," she whispered, "please." She doubled over, clutching her stomach, coughing blood onto the ramp. The wormhole shut down and with an anguished cry she fell forward onto the cold hard steel of the ramp.

Hammond grabbed the phone and nodded to O'Neill who headed down to the gate room. "Medical emergency in the gate room!" Hammond said.

O'Neill ordered the soldiers to stand down as he and Daniel ran up the ramp and knelt beside her. They gently eased her onto her back, their hands quickly becoming covered in her blood.

Daniel shook his head. "This is really bad, Jack."

Dr. Frasier ran into the room and two nurses with a roll bed came in behind her. She ran to the top of the ramp and dropped to her knees next to the woman. She pressed her stethoscope to the woman's chest, which was badly burned. "Ok, she's got a pulse."

Frasier directed Jack and Daniel as they gently lifted her onto the bed. The two nurses rushed off with her.

Janet turned to Jack and Daniel. She had seen the blood on their hands. "You two to the infirmary right now."

Jack grimaced. He didn't like where this was going. He knew it would probably involve needles. "What for?" He asked petulantly.

Janet glared at him with her 'doctor's orders' face. "You're a biohazard, Colonel. You've exposed yourself to an alien's blood. Now go!" She rushed off to the infirmary with a pouting Jack and resigned Daniel following close behind with Hammond quickly joining them.

"What's the problem, Doctor?" Hammond asked.

"They've been exposed to blood, Sir. We need to get them cleaned and disinfected and run some tests," Janet said without slowing down.

"I'm going to get Major Carter and Teal'c," Hammond informed them as he headed off.

"Well, this morning is off to a good start," Jack said.

"I hope this doesn't take long. We have that meeting with the Asgard in an hour," Daniel said.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, we don't want to keep Thor waiting. Make sure you check her for a snake, Doc."

Daniel rolled his eyes and sighed. "Not everyone is a Goa'Uld, Jack.

"Is she?" Jack asked.

"Well, I don't know that do I?"

Jack nodded. "Exactly, so make sure she gets checked for a snake."

"Sure thing, Jack."

In the infirmary they found them working feverishly over the girl. They were trying to cut away charred clothing, run ivs, clean blood, bandage wounds… more things than Daniel thought could be done to any person at once. Doctor Frasier gave quick instructions to a nearby nurse on how to deal with Daniel and Jack, and then she easily slid in and took control of the chaotic situation erupting around their new guest. Daniel admired Doctor Frasier for dealing with stuff like this regularly. She made order out of this chaos.

The nurse attending to Jack and Daniel took a sample of the blood and immediately had it sent off with another nurse for testing. She proceeded to direct them in cleaning in disinfecting their hands and then had them put into fresh clothes. Doctor Frasier shouted at the nurse to make sure Jack didn't sneak out, that he and Daniel were confined to the infirmary for the moment.

Jack huffed and he and Daniel took their places on their assigned beds. "I guess I could use a nap," Jack said with a yawn.

"It's nine in the morning, Jack," Daniel laughed.

Jack gave him a questioning. A nap was good anytime, but he knew Daniel was too much of a workaholic like Carter to realize that. He glanced over at Daniel who was intently watching Doctor Frasier work on the girl. Jack chuckled and shook his head.

Daniel broke from his reflection and looked at Jack. "What?"

Jack gave a roguish grin. "Nothing, Danny-boy, not a thing."

Hammond came in then with Teal'c and Carter at his side. They went over to Jack and Daniel. Hammond glanced over at the girl and then at Jack. "Any word on the woman?"

Jack shook his head. "No, Sir. Frasier ordered us to bed and hasn't said much else since that."

Doctor Frasier then came over to them. She clasped her hands in front of her and nodded to General Hammond.

"How's she doing?" Daniel asked with concern.

Janet shook her head. "Not so good. Honestly, I'm not sure why she isn't already dead. She lost more blood and suffered more wounds than any human should be able to, that is if she is human." She repeatedly glanced back at the girl.

Daniel could see the concern in her eyes. "Goa'Uld perhaps?"

"I don't think so. I don't think even a symbiote could save her from wounds like this. I'll have to run some tests to see if I can figure out what's going on."

"Did you check her for a snake?" Jack asked.

"Doctor Frasier just said she doesn't think she has a symbiote," Daniel replied, knowing that wouldn't be good enough for Jack.

Jack sighed. "Carter, would you go use your Goa'Uld detector please?"

"I do not sense the presence of a symbiote," Teal'c said decisively.

Jack nodded. "Ok."

"Well, whatever she is I've never seen anything like it. Her skin is completely burned off in some places and has exposed some muscle tissue. It looks as if her natural muscle tissue is interwoven with metallic blue fibers. The muscle is actually made out of more of those fibers than her own tissue."

"Is it actual metal in her muscle?" Carter asked.

Janet shrugged. "Without more tests I can't be sure, but it looks like it. I can't even imagine the medical advancement it would take to perform an operation like that. To replace organic muscle tissue with fully functioning and integrated synthetics is amazing." She reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Daniel. "We found several alien devices but this stuck out."

Daniel unrolled it. "Well, it's written in Latin. 'Take her here' and then there's some gate coordinates and then its signed 'Jack O'Neill.'"

"Really?" Carter asked, shock on her face. "Do you know the coordinates?"

Daniel sighed and nodded. "Yeah. These are the coordinates the Asgard told us to meet them at less than an hour from now." He handed the note to Jack.

"Well, I need to get back to her," Janet said and walked back over to the girl. Daniel watched her leave, and she gave him a smile before returning to her work.

Jack took the note. "Yep, that's my signature… again. As soon as I woke up this morning and looked in the mirror I knew it was going to be one of those note from the future days."

"Forget the sarcasm for a minute, Jack. Whoever she is, she's dying. Maybe the Asgard can help," Daniel said.

"So, do we take her with us?" Daniel asked.

"She could be a spy sent to harm the Asgard," Teal'c suggested.

"If we let her die then we'll never know who she is or where she came from or how she got our iris code," Daniel argued.

Hammond nodded his head. "I agree. If Dr. Frasier believes she can be moved without killing her then I want you to take her with you, Colonel."

"Yes, Sir."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The wormhole shut down behind them and the members of SG-1 glanced around the room. They were in a large grey room well-lit with bluish lights in the ceiling that was completely empty except for a pedestal off to the right and an open archway about fifty feet from the gate. Jack and Teal'c carried the young woman between them on a stretcher, and Dr. Frasier stood at her side. She had insisted on coming if her patient going anywhere. She had grudgingly cleared Jack and Daniel to leave the infirmary after preliminary tests revealed nothing dangerous in the woman's blood. Daniel admired her dedication to her patients, even complete strangers.

Daniel was first down the steps. He looked around and stopped when his view came to the gate. "Um, guys… look at the Stargate," he said, pointing to the gate behind his teammates.

"If it's not there I'm gonna lose it," O'Neill said.

"Oh, it's there." Daniel replied.

Carter and Frasier turned to look. O'Neill nearly pulled a muscle trying to turn his head to see without jostling the girl. The gate was about three feet larger in diameter than their Stargate. It was constructed out of a dark blue metal and had three concentric rings, each ring being about a foot in width. The second ring was set a few inches deeper than the outer ring and the inside ring was several inches deeper than the second. The outer ring had no markings on it all. The second ring had etched silver markings in an alien script. The innermost ring, though made of the same blue metal, had identical markings to the Stargate they all knew.

"Ok, this is… different. You ever seen anything like this, Teal'c?" Jack asked.

"Indeed I have not, O'Neill," Teal'c replied.

"When you were on the Asgard home world did you see a gate like that, Colonel?" Carter asked.

"No, no, I didn't. Carter, check out that thing over there. Let's hope it's a DHD since I don't see one." He nodded to the pedestal. "Daniel, check out the gate. See if you can make out any of that writing."

O'Neill and Teal'c walked carefully down the steps with Frasier staying at the girl's side. They made their way over to the front of the pedestal. It was made out of the same grey material as the room and came up just above Carter's waist. As she stepped behind the pedestal it lowered slightly into the floor to a position more comfortable to her height.

"Whoa, what'd you do?" Jack asked.

Carter shook her head. "Nothing, Sir. It must be sensitive to the needs of the individual."

On the top of the pedestal was a sheet of glass tilted down about thirty degrees. Carter touched it, and the glass turned opaque and several displays appeared on it.

"It looks like a touch-sensitive monitor, Sir."

"I see that, Major. What does it do?"

"Perhaps it is the DHD, as you said, O'Neill," Teal'c suggested.

O'Neill leaned over as far as he could to see the screen.

"I think it is. Look, Colonel." Carter pointed to the top of the screen where each of the three rings was represented separately from the others. The lower part of the screen featured rows and columns of boxes labeled in the alien script. "This is some type of menu system but without knowing the alien language it's just guesswork."

"Daniel, you got anything?"

Daniel glanced over at Jack. "Um… no, not really. This is a completely alien language, Jack. None of it looks to be Asgard, or anything else for that matter."

"Well, it has to be something. What good are you?" Jack sighed.

Frasier knelt down and began to give the girl an injection.

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "For all we know it might not be a language. This script on here could just be made up symbols to represent Stargate addresses."

"I don't think so, Daniel. This display is covered with it," Carter said. She pressed on the graphical representation of their gate. Everything on the screen vanished and a larger representation of the gate appeared.

Daniel walked over and knelt by Frasier. "How is she?"

She looked at him. "I didn't have time to do any tests. I still don't even know if she's Goa'Uld, though neither Teal'c nor Sam sensed anything. I don't know how she's staying alive."

Daniel smiled. "Because you fight to keep her that way."

She gave him a sad smile. "I'm not sure how much longer. Her condition doesn't actually seem to be worsening, but it's not really improving. I don't know long she can keep fighting. We need to find the Asgard, Daniel."

Daniel nodded and stood up.

"Should you be playing with that, Carter?" Jack asked, watching her use the screen.

She glanced at Jack. "Only if you want to go home, Sir." She pressed the first symbol on the screen to dial Earth.

"Well, I don't think Thor would've asked us to come here if we couldn't get home."

Daniel looked back at the gate as the symbol unexpectedly lit. "Where is Thor?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders.

Sam smiled. "It is a DHD."

"Yes, it is, Major Carter." A young woman said from the archway.

O'Neill's P-90 hung from his back, and he wished he had set the stretcher down earlier. Teal'c raised an eyebrow and O'Neill stood speechless. The woman appeared young and at least human in form, but the similarities stopped there. She looked as though she had been carved from a block of ice. Her skin was almost completely clear but when attempting to stare through the skin to what lay beneath it her body appeared to become opaque and shift to white and then to darker blue at the core. Long, wavy, silver hair framed her statuesque face. Her eyes were a hazy blue, all blue, no white or pupil. She wore a black bodysuit.

"Hello," Daniel said, approaching the woman. "I'm Daniel Jackson, this is Major Carter, Teal'c, Doctor Frasier, and Colonel O'Neill," he said, pointing to each of his teammates.

"I know who you are, Dr. Jackson."

"Then you have us at a disadvantage," Jack said.

She smiled. "Well, I have been expecting you."

"Oh, well… that's good I guess," Daniel said. "Who might you be?"

"I am Desra K'sal of the Solari Empire, commander of this facility."

"Ok, Desra...," O'Neill started, but she interrupted.

"Desra is my military rank, Colonel O'Neill. You may call me K'sal."

"K'sal, this young lady is very sick. Is Thor here? She needs help." Daniel said, gesturing to the girl.

K'sal nodded her head and the girl vanished in a flash of light.

Frasier fell back in shock and nearly knocked Daniel over. "Where did you take her?" she demanded as Daniel helped her up.

Teal'c and O'Neill dropped the stretcher and adjusted their weapons to the front.

"I have transported her to our medical facility," K'sal explained. "She will be well taken care of. I assure you, Doctor Frasier."

O'Neill frowned. "Warn us before you do that. And don't take her far. We've got some questions for her.

Daniel patted her arm and whispered, "We can't help her anymore, Janet."

She looked up at him and nodded.

"This is a very advanced dialing system you have," Carter said.

K'sal walked over to the pedestal. "Yes, our gate system has come quite far since the one we mastered a long long time ago."

Daniel walked over in front of the pedestal. "You don't mean the gate system built by the Ancients?"

She looked at him. "That is correct. The Asgard introduced us to the gate technology. We have since improved upon it a great deal."

"What is the purpose of three rings?" Teal'c asked.

"The outer ring's use is for the military. Its exact functions are classified. The middle ring accesses our civilian gates, and then the innermost ring of course accesses the gate system of the Ancients."

Carter tilted her head to the side. O'Neill watched her and could tell she was thinking. She nodded to K'sal. "That's why there are no symbols on it. The destinations it goes to are classified. You don't want anyone to know what coordinates its dialing."

K'sal smiled. "That is correct, Major."

"Pardon me if I'm wrong, which wouldn't be unusual, but couldn't someone just dial into your regular gate here and come through that way. Like we did," O'Neill said.

"That's true. They'd just bypass the outer ring," Daniel suggested.

"It is not an issue. Incoming wormholes can only establish themselves if we approve the connection. Even if someone was able to overcome that we have other defensive measures."

O'Neill pulled off his black cap and scratched his head. "Then how did we get here?"

"Your connection was approved. Commander Thor invited you. Did he not?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, just making sure you knew that."

"You can just shut off an incoming wormhole?" Carter asked.

"Yes, but this is only a fraction of the control we have over our wormholes. Our new system is capable of generating wormholes that allow travel in both directions."

"I thought wormholes were one way," Daniel said.

"Apparently not for them," Carter countered.

"Would you like to see Thor?" K'sal asked, looking to O'Neill.

"Yeah, let's do that. We've got an issue."

"I would be more than happy to discuss with you later other gate enhancements, Sol O'Neill," K'sal said with a polite smile to Carter.

Jack raised his eyebrows, and Carter looked at K'sal with confusion. It was obvious K'sal had been speaking to her.

"Well, first off, I'm O'Neill. Jack O'Neill." He pointed at Carter. "Secondly, that is Major Carter. And, finally, no offense but I don't believe I'd find much interest in learning about advanced gate things." O'Neill shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, but that's how I feel."

K'sal was silent for a moment and then shook her head. "Of course, forgive me, Colonel. If you will please just follow me."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

K'sal led them out of the room and down a long hallway. Daniel, examining his surroundings for any clues as to who these people were, noticed three small metal pins adorning K'sal's left upper arm. Each pin was a small hollow circle with three parallel lines coming out of the bottom, the center of the three lines being the longest. Just above the pins a word in the alien script was printed in silver.

"Excuse me, but what does that symbol represent?" Daniel asked, pointing to her arm.

"It is the symbol of the Solari Empire. The number of symbols signify my rank, and the word above them details my particular branch of the military," she explained.

They passed several other Solari along the way, all dressed in the same black uniform with differing number of pins on their shoulders, but all had the exact same alien word printed above the pins. The Solari smiled and nodded to them as they passed. They came to a set of glass double doors which opened automatically into a room with a circular table and chairs all around. Three of the room's walls were all glass, as was the ceiling. They walked over to the glass wall to get a better view. Through the glass they could see they were on a beautiful but barren planet. Two suns were setting in the distance behind some large rocky dark blue mountains which cast long shadows over deep canyons that looked like they had been cut out of the landscape rather than naturally formed.

"Nice view," Jack said.

"Yes, unfortunately the surface of the planet is highly radiated as a result of an ancient Goa'Uld mining operation. There has been no life on this planet for many centuries. This is one reason we chose it as a base," K'sal said as she took a seat.

Jack took a step back from the glass. "Radiation you say?"

K'sal smiled. "Do not worry, Colonel O'Neill. This facility is quite safe."

"That's amazing," Carter said.

They turned as they heard the glass doors swing open and smiled as Thor entered. Jack wouldn't admit it, but he had really come to admire him and was always glad to see his friend.

"Greetings, O'Neill," Thor said.

"Thor, buddy!" O'Neill walked over and shook the small alien's hand.

"Thank you for coming, O'Neill. The Asgard are once again in your debt."

O'Neill waved it off. "Nothing to it. Always glad to help." He suddenly looked confused. "Wait, what did we do again?"

"The message you sent us about the Solari. It was most helpful."

Daniel crossed his arms. "Umm, I don't recall us sending a message."

Thor looked at Daniel. "The message was authenticated as Colonel O'Neill's voice."

Jack frowned. "He's right, Thor. We haven't sent any messages. Last time we talked was when we sent you that robot. You know the one I told you beat up Daniel."

Daniel glared at Jack. Frasier looked at Daniel, who raised his eyebrows and silently mouthed to her, "That's Jack."

Thor turned to K'sal. "It is as you said, K'sal. Something larger is at work here."

K'sal nodded. "Perhaps. Please sit."

"Oh, boy," Jack muttered.

They laid their weapons down beside their chairs and Jack laid his backpack on the table. They took their seats.

Jack laid his hands on the table, drumming his fingers on the glass. "We have a bit of a situation ourselves." He went on to explain about the girl who showed up on their doorstep and her note. "We also brought along a bunch of alien looking devices she had with her. Thought you could help us figuring out what they are." He patted his hand on his backpack.

"We will offer what help we can, Colonel. Here is our situation," K'sal began, staring directly at Jack. "One week ago an Asgard ship entered orbit around this planet. This is a classified and cloaked base. Commander Thor sent out an open hail to us, and we responded. Of course, I was surprised. This facility is undetectable, and we have been out of contact with the Asgard for many thousands of years. We were great allies, and I was thrilled to renew contact with them."

"How did you lose contact?" Carter asked.

"After receiving help from the Asgard our people, who were then looking for a new home, decided to move on to a new galaxy. We traveled very far. There were accidents, wars, disasters over the course of millennia. Contact with our old friends became less and less frequent and eventually faded off completely."

Jack glanced over at Daniel and Carter who were, of course, sitting on the edge of their seats, rapt in the story. His view shifted to the mountains behind Carter. He'd prefer to ditch the 'meet and greet' and go rock-climbing, maybe drag Carter along and with any luck, at the top of the mountain would be a lake with no pesky fish in it. He liked a girl who wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty or break a nail.

"Colonel?" K'sal said, not rudely.

"Oh sorry," Jack said, looking back to her with his roguish grin. "Nice view."

Carter rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh.

"Well, I was saying that we have reinitiated contact with the Asgard. We did ask them how they discovered this facility. Freyr said that they received a message from you telling them where this facility was located and that we wanted them to contact us."

"Ok, I like Freyr and all, and I'm not saying he's a liar… but I never even heard of you guys before today. And I don't like to point fingers, but this is all giving me a bit of a headache," Jack said. He vigorously rubbed his face with his hands as if trying to wake himself up.

"Yes, we know. We told Thor we had never met you and had no reports from any of our outposts of having made contact with you. We were thrown into quite a state of confus…" K'sal suddenly stopped and turned away. She tilted her head as if she were listening to a private conversation. She turned back around and O'Neill could see she wasn't even sure what was going on. "I must leave for a moment. Please remain here." She vanished in a flash of light.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

K'sal had been gone fifteen minutes when Jack had to get up and stretch his legs.

Jack stretched his arms above his head and yawned. "Any idea what's going on here, Thor?"

"I regret that am I quite unsure, O'Neill. However, I have great faith in the Solari. They have not forgotten how the Asgard helped them long ago. I believe we will both benefit from their gratitude."

Jack raised his eyebrows and smiled. "I like the sound of that."

K'sal reappeared in her seat. "Excuse me. I apologize for that."

Jack gave her a warm smile. "When you gotta go, you gotta go."

K'sal smiled. "Yes, I suppose. Well, the woman you brought here is drifting in and out of consciousness but recovering."

Frasier's face brightened. "How's that possible? She was dying."

K'sal was visibly upset. "The woman is outfitted with numerous Solari technologies. Both civilian and military. She has Solari nanites in her blood which had placed her in a sort of stasis while they repaired the damage to her body. However, they were severely low on power. We have boosted their power regeneration slightly and our doctors are aiding in her recovery. We wish to keep her recovery slow until we can determine if she is a threat. While I was present she mumbled a few words. I do not believe she was aware of what she was saying. She spoke in Solari, which is even more confusing, but she did say something that was not in our database."

Jack pointed at Daniel. "Try checking that database."

Frasier tried to stifle a laugh.

Daniel shook his head and waved Jack off. "Well, I might be able to help. I am something of a linguist I suppose."

K'sal used the touch screen on the table again and a holographic projection of the girl appeared about a foot above the table. She was lying on a bed. "Listen," K'sal said.

They all watched the young woman, her face contorting in pain every few moments, though it appeared to be mental distress rather than actual physical discomfort. After a moment passed they could barely hear her as she said the words "Tel'Esar, ki Jolinar" and then moments later "Ay Ardai kel miri," and finally "Vani."

Teal'c eyebrow shot up, and Sam's face went deathly pale. Jack looked directly at Sam. She caught his gaze, and he could see her lips trembling. He reached down for his P-90.

Daniel swallowed hard and glanced at Sam. "Well, 'Jolinar' is familiar, but as far as I know it's just a name."

Jack locked eyes with Carter, and she gave a weak smile. "Would you translate that please?" Jack asked.

K'sal nodded. "'Tel'Esar translates to 'new ones', but I have no idea to whom or what she is referring. She says 'New ones, I am Jolinar. The Ardai found me.' Vani is an unknown to me. The Ardai are an alien race with which the Solari have some unpleasant familiarity."

"Can we see her?" Carter asked.

K'sal nodded. There was a flash and they all found themselves in the Solari medical facility.

"Please, warn us!" Jack tried not to sound too angry.

"My apologies, Colonel." K'sal said and pointed to the bed where the woman lay.

They all could tell she was doing much better but still very weak. Near the bed stood two guards in armor the likes of which none of SG-1 had ever seen. They were covered from head to toe in heavy and thick black armor with silver visors covering their faces. Carter thought the armor looked terribly advanced. It appeared like it was one piece. She couldn't see any seams or separations. O'Neill thought it looked cool and was momentarily awed by the big rifles they carried.

Frasier was more impressed by the facility. One entire wall was nothing more a giant screen that displayed body diagrams, enhanced scans of various wounds, and many charts and boxes of alien text. There was also a smaller display at the foot of each of the six beds in the room.

The girl was cleaned up now at least. Her light blonde hair was cut even shorter than Carter's. They had dressed her in one of their black bodysuits as nearly all clothes had been blasted off. Daniel's eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of the implant on her wrist. It was in the shape of an upside down "V" with two solid circles above it.

That was definitely something familiar.

Daniel leaned over to Carter. "Did you see the symbol on her wrist?" he whispered.

The girl opened her eyes and looked directly at him with a raised eyebrow and piercing green eyes. Daniel smiled and blushed. She couldn't have heard him. At least that's what he had thought. Carter caught the look and only nodded her head.

Frasier walked to her bedside. "I'm glad to see you are alright. I was very concerned."

"Thank you, Janet. My nanites were very weak, and K'sal believes it was your actions that saved my life." She opened her eyes again and looked at Frasier. She bowed her head to the doctor. "I am in your debt. I cannot afford to die now."

Janet frowned. "How do you know my name?"

The woman only allowed a small grin to touch the corners of her mouth and closed her eyes. "K'sal, you speak," the girl said and coughed.

"Colonel O'Neill, this woman says that she sent the message to the Asgard in an attempt to bring the Asgard and you here. Not only is this a security issue for you and the Asgard but of course for us. We don't go around just handing out gate coordinates to classified facilities. We have already reset our gate coordinates; nevertheless, we need the truth. We have sent queries to the necessary sources in an attempt to validate what little she has told me. We have had no response yet."

Carter's perked up. "You can reset the coordinates for a gate that easily?"

"Carter! Later. Please," O'Neill said. He crossed his arms and gave K'sal a suspicious glare. "She didn't say any of that."

K'sal nodded. "She says she is too weak to wish to speak physically, so I have done it for her."

"How?" Frasier asked.

"She apparently has Solari telepathic enhancements," K'sal said with some anger creeping into her voice.

Jack let out a large sigh. "Fine, how'd she use my voice in that message?"

Daniel tapped his finger on Jack's shoulder. "Actually, Jack, I'd like to know about that symbol on her wrist."

Jack glanced at her wrists and then back to Daniel, his eyebrows raised. "What about it?"

Daniel reached up and adjusted his glasses. "Well, doesn't it look familiar?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"It does in fact resemble the symbol for Earth," Teal'c observed.

"Yeah, thanks, Teal'c," Jack said.

"But I've never seen that exact symbol before," Daniel went on. "It wasn't on the cartouche at Abydos."

Jack turned back to the girl. "So, who are you? Jolinar is dead!"

The girl's cheeks flushed red.

K'sal frowned. "She says she has no wish to discuss it at the moment. You need to bring General Hammond."

Jack tossed up his hands. "Okay, why him?"

"Because, the decision lies ultimately with him in any case."

Teal'c frowned. "Perhaps, we should take her with us to the SGC."

Daniel cleared his throat and jerked his head in the direction of the two heavily armed soldiers. "I think those guys are here for a reason. Not sure we should just take her back with us."

"Well, she is still very weak and has not attempted to harm anyone or escape. But our scans on her have been rather unsuccessful," K'sal said, a look of irritation on her face. She was not used to her technology being outdone.

"What do you mean 'unsuccessful'?" Carter asked.

"We have very advanced scanning systems as you can see. We should be able to analyze the inside of her body for foreign material, contagions, explosives and so forth. Our scanners seem unable penetrate her skin. We only discovered the presence of our Solari technology by analyzing her spilled blood and the presence of the surface implants Dr. Jackson pointed out," K'sal said, glaring at the girl.

"This is most unusual. The Solari are even more advanced than the Asgard," Thor said.

"It means that if you take her back it is at your own risk," K'sal said simply. "We are attempting to verify her story."

The girl struggled to sit up. Frasier grabbed instinctively grabbed the girl by the arm and helped her push up on her elbows.

She nodded thankfully to Janet and turned her gaze on K'sal. "I will allow some tests, if it will allay some suspicion," she said.

K'sal scowled. "Very well."

"You should consider bringing your General here, O'Neill," Thor said, looking at O'Neill with his large black eyes. "There are other matters to discuss of great importance."

K'sal nodded her agreement. "Yes, the day after tomorrow. Please, Colonel O'Neill, return with your General at precisely this in two days. My superior…"

"Sol Baelon," Jolinar interrupted.

K'sal's cheeks flushed a deep blue. "Yes, my superior, Sol Baelon, will arrive then. He will conduct the negotiations between our worlds and hopefully be able to advise us on the matter of this woman."

"Alright, two days then," Jack said.

Jack and Daniel noticed a slight grin appear on the girl's face. Something in it was familiar to them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

After promising to return, they gated back to the SGC. Nearly two hours were spent discussing what had happened at the Solari facility, the young woman, and what the hell was going on. Finally, they moved on to discussing the items and alien devices they had found on the woman. O'Neill had brought the bag of alien devices back with him. They lay spread out on the center of the table.

"She shooed us on home before we got to show them to her," O'Neill said. "So, still no idea what they are. Of course, we haven't really tried playing with them yet."

"I think that would be a good thing," Daniel said.

Carter picked up what appeared to be a circle of glass. It was only about five inches in diameter, nearly paper-thin and though it was nearly weightless felt very solid. A picture suddenly appeared on the surface of the glass. A small red dot appeared at the top of the picture and a green one at the bottom. The picture was of a smiling Daniel leaning against a tree and a red-haired little girl staring from behind his legs sheepishly. He was wearing a black jacket with some symbol on his shoulder, but Sam couldn't make it out from the angle. Sam's eyebrows shot up. She heard Janet telling General Hammond about the Solari medical facility like a child on Christmas morning. She put her finger on the green dot and another picture appeared. It was Daniel with Janet standing in front of him. He had his arms wrapped around her and was resting his chin on her shoulder. He was wearing the same jacket and with his arms around Janet Sam could see the symbol on his shoulder. It was the upside down "V" with two solid circles above it. She hit the red button, the picture vanished and she laid the device down.

Jack had been watching her. He knew her well enough to read her face. "What was that, Carter?"

"Nothing, Sir," she replied.

O'Neill reached across the table, but she grabbed it before he could get it. "No, Sir, you can't."

Janet stopped talking and everyone looked at Carter.

"Are you alright, Major?" Hammond asked with concern in his voice.

"General, I think that woman is from the future," Carter said.

Jack laid his head down on the table. "General, please, permission to have Doctor Frasier sedate me."

"I am inclined to agree with Colonel O'Neill. I have quite enough of time travel," Teal'c said stoically.

"Permission denied," Hammond replied.

Daniel tapped his pen on the table as he talked. "So, is this another one of those note from the future things?"

Jack sat up and clapped his hands together. "I said that, Daniel. You got kind've rude with me."

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, Jack. I didn't know you were taking things seriously today."

"General, Sir, maybe if we quit screwing up our present these people from the future might just leave us alone," O'Neill said.

"Major, why do you think she's from the future?" Hammond asked.

"This is like a photo album, Sir. These photos may be doctored, but if they're not I believe they are showing future events," Carter said. "I think we should discuss it with the Solari. Their technology will be more capable of discerning the reality of the photos."

"Well, let's look at them," Jack suggested. "Maybe we can figure out what's going on."

"No, we can't, Sir," Carter argued. "We can't know about our own future."

"Well, what did you see then?" Jack pressed.

She shook her head. "I can't say."

"We should trust Major Carter on this, Jack. She's a bit smarter than you," Hammond said.

"Yes, Sir."

They finished up their briefing. Carter headed off to her lab with the alien devices and Frasier headed back to her infirmary. Jack decided to drag Teal'c along for some boxing while Daniel went off to bury himself in a book.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Hurry up, Carter!" Jack shouted from down the hall. "Teal'c's starving out here, and Junior's got a hungry look in his eye."

"Neither I nor my symbiote are in desperate need of sustenance, O'Neill."

"Just one minute, Sir. I have to lock up all this stuff," she shouted back.

They had put their day in and the four of them were going to dinner as they often did. She had spent the rest of her day examining the devices but had not had much luck figuring out what they were. One of them looked similar to a Zat but was much smaller, and she had been afraid to fire it. There were several small silver spheres which she was clueless about. Hopefully, the Solari could help. She had hid the glass viewer in her purse in case Jack had come in and decided to thumb through the photos. She had done well in resisting the temptation to look at it again. Part of her mind was trying to convince her that the photos could help like Jack said, but she tried to ignore that. She grabbed her purse and walked into the hall. Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c were waiting for her at the other end. She smiled to herself.

"One second guys," she shouted. She stepped back into her lab and grabbed the phone. She dialed up the infirmary. "Hi, Janet."

Fifteen minutes later Carter, Teal'c, Jack, Daniel, and Janet were in the elevator heading to the surface.

"Thanks for the dinner invitation. Sorry it took me so long. I had to call Cassie and make sure she'd be ok for supper without me. Are you sure I'm not intruding?" Janet asked. She knew the four of them went to dinner often. She didn't want to be a fifth wheel, though she always loved it when they invited her.

Jack smiled. "Hell no, Doc. Besides you were part of SG-1 today. We kind've owe you one anyway. Daniel especially for all the times you've patched him up. How many times you been shot by the Goa'Uld, Danny? Seven? Eight?"

Daniel gave a fake smile. "Very funny, Jack. I try not to keep count myself."

"It's ok, Daniel. I'd start getting worried if you came back from a mission without some sort of injury," Janet joked.

"Indeed, the infirmary does seem to hold an appeal to you, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said.

Janet and Carter laughed.

Daniel shook his head in exasperation. "Well, it will certainly be good to have another person to distract Jack from annoying me."

Jack frowned. "I'm not annoying."

The elevator doors opened and they stepped out.

"Am I?"

Three hours later they were still sitting at O'Malley's nursing their final drinks. They were glad to have someone new to regale with their numerous stories. Though Janet had heard a lot of it before through Sam, she still smiled, laughed, and looked horrified as Jack spilled out his tales, even adding sound effects.

"Do that again!" Daniel said.

"What?" Jack asked.

"The sound of the mother ship exploding. I like that one," Daniel laughed.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Kaboom!" Jack shouted, earning curious looks from the other patrons.

"Ahhhhhh? That's new." Carter said, puzzled.

Jack nodded. "Yep, just added that. It's called improvising, Carter. Anyway, that's Apophis screaming as he realizes we've finally knocked him on his ass and then 'kaboom' as his ship slams into the atmosphere. You know, cause it can't handle an uncontrolled something or other."

"Reentry is the word you are looking for, O'Neill," Teal'c said.

Jack nodded as he took a drink of his beer.

Daniel coughed into his hand. "That better be the last one. I'm not driving you home, Jack."

"Is that regular duty for you, Daniel?" Janet asked, turning to him.

He smiled at her. "Usually only on the days he gets shot. He says you don't give him enough morphine. I just tell him you're smart enough not to dull what senses he has left."

She laughed and Carter watched the two of them. She thought maybe messing with things a little wouldn't hurt.

Jack started blowing across the top of his empty beer bottle trying to elicit a nice hollow sound.

"You have tried that many times, O'Neill. You have not yet been successful," Teal'c said.

"It takes practice, Teal'c. You can't just do it. It's an art," Jack argued.

Teal'c picked up a nearby bottle and carefully blew across the opening producing a deep whine. Daniel clapped, and Carter and Janet smiled in pure amusement.

"My bottle is made wrong," Jack said and pushed the bottle aside. He turned and looked directly at Carter, smiling widely.

She looked at him and tried to stifle a grin. "Are you alright there, Colonel?"

He nodded. "So, what was in those pics, Carter?"

She scowled.

"Ah, come on, Jack," Daniel said. "She won't tell you."

"Come on, Carter. Just one. Tell me what was in one and I'll let it go."

Carter's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Do you promise?"

"I swear." He crossed his heart. "On my honor as an Eagle Scout."

Daniel choked on his beer and started coughing violently. "Damn it, Jack, you made beer come out my nose."

"Ignore him, Carter. Just one pic," he said and held up one finger.

"Alright, Colonel," she said with a slight grin.

They all came to attention and leaned closer over the table.

"The first picture I saw had an oak tree in it," she said and picked up her beer signaling to them that was the all of the revelation.

Jack frowned."That's not fair, Carter!"

"It was in the picture, Sir. A deal's a deal. I actually thought you'd be happy to know that oak trees are alive and well in the future, Sir." She ignored Jack's hurt look. She knew he was faking.

Daniel sighed. "Forget it, Jack. Your argument won't work on her."

Surprise filled Carter's face. "You came up with an argument, Sir? I am impressed. Is it better than the scout's honor thing?"

"You think I can't think, Carter?"

"I didn't mean to imply that, Sir. You just usually prefer not to over-think things."

"What else can I do? You won't listen to reason," Jack argued.

"So, come on let it out. I'm all ears, Colonel. Convince me."

Jack waved it off and turned away from her. "Whatever, Carter. Forget it."

Sam grabbed her beer to occupy her attention.

Janet glanced at Daniel and both shook their heads in frustration. Sam had gone too far, and she knew it. They were both too damn stubborn. Janet and Daniel knew they had to save them. Daniel glanced at his watch. "Hey, Teal'c, our movie starts soon doesn't it?"

"You guys going to a movie?" Carter asked, trying to sound cheery. "Indeed we are. Dr. Jackson and I agreed to a movie this week after last week's…," Teal'c's eyebrow slowly raised, "misfortune."

"Wow, look at the time!" Daniel said as he started to get up. Saving them was one thing, saving his reputation was another.

"One second, Daniel," Janet said and grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled him back down on his chair. She continued to rest her hand on his forearm, preventing him from fleeing.

Daniel laid his free hand over hers, and she jerked in surprise but didn't remove her hand. Janet was glad their hands were beneath the table and out of view. O'Neill would never let either of them live it down if saw them holding hands, though that wasn't a terrible prospect she admitted.

"Yeah, what's this 'misfortune'?" Carter laughed.

Jack perked up and couldn't help but smile. "It's nothing, really," he said with a toss of his head.

Teal'c turned to O'Neill. "That is not what the police said, O'Neill."

Jack raised his hand at a nearby waitress. "Another round for me, please."

Daniel sighed. "It was Teal'c's idea to go there. I take no responsibility."

"Where did you go?" Janet asked. She tried to ignore Daniel's thumb moving in slow small circles on the back of her hand.

"A place where humans do battle in a ring of jell-o," Teal'c said simply.

Daniel's face turned red, and Jack busied himself with his new beer. Carter busted out laughing.

Janet mocked a look of shock. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. And to think you're the best the Airforce has to offer."

Daniel shook his head and laughed. "No, I'm not, and Jack certainly isn't."

"Taking the fight to the front lines are you, Sir?" Carter managed to get out through her laughter.

Janet pulled her hand form Daniel's and patted him on the back. "Poor, Dr. Jackson, you weren't injured I hope as usual," she said, trying not to laugh, and then returned her hand to his.

"O'Neill said it was quite common for women of the Tauri to engage in battle in this way."

"Colonel, what have you been telling him?"

Jack toyed with his bottle. "Wishful thinking I guess. It's a well-respected sport, Carter."

Carter wiped the tears from her eyes. "Come on, so, what's this about the police?" Carter asked, staring at Jack, her eyes sparkling with delight.

"Some guy nearby made a little scene when he lost a bet with me," Jack said as he stared down at his beer.

"Jack decided to show him the door," Daniel explained.

"He was a jerk. The guys will back me up on that," Jack said. "Anyway he called the cops. I just made a couple calls, got it all sorted out."

"Impressive, Sir," Carter said.

"Well, when you've got friends like General Hammond, Jacob, Thor and so on it doesn't take much," Jack said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, right, Colonel, my Dad would've told them to haul you off."

"The time of our movie draws near, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c reminded him.

"Oh, yeah, what movie you guys going to?" Carter asked.

"What did you decide on, Teal'c?" Daniel asked.

"I thought we should see the one in which a man is forced to think women who are not beautiful are in fact quite attractive. It seemed most amusing."

"Calm down, Teal'c," Jack said.

"So, I guess its comedy night. You guys coming?"

"Nah, my head's killing me. Think someone better give me a lift," Jack mumbled.

"Guess that'll be me, Sir. Daniel, you can bring him in tomorrow," Carter said.

"We sound like parents discussing custody of a child neither parent wants," Daniel laughed. He turned to Janet. "How about you, Janet?" He squeezed her hand expectantly.

She blushed. "What?"

"You want to go to the movies with me and Teal'c?"

Carter nudged her with her elbow.

"Sure, sounds like fun. Usually I'm stuck watching teen movies with Cassie. A break would be nice," she said and turned to Sam who only smiled.

"Well, guess we all better head out then," Jack said and got up from his chair. He turned to Janet. "Doc, that was fun. You should come more often. I got a lot more stories."

"Yeah, Janet, you seemed to have enjoyed yourself," Carter said with a wink.

Janet blushed deeper. "I had a great time, guys. Thanks for letting me tag along."

"Yes, Jack definitely annoyed me less tonight. We might need to keep you around," Daniel said.

"You're wrong there, Daniel," Jack argued. "Teal'c loves me to death, and Carter couldn't be any more fascinated by my opinions, even if they aren't over-thought. You're the only one who's annoyed. I think you need to keep her around. Right, Carter?" Jack gave her a wink.

Sam's smile disappeared.

"You are all behaving rather strangely," Teal'c said.

Jack nodded. "It's nothing to worry about, Teal'c. Carter thinks she is the only one smart enough to see what a sweet couple Janet and Danny-boy are."

"Well, we're not…," Janet stumbled over her words, and her cheeks flushing redder. "I mean we haven't even gone out yet."

"Yet?" Jack asked, staring at Daniel. "Daniel, is there something you need to tell me, your best friend?"

"You aren't that trustworthy, Jack."

"That hurts." Jack thumped his chest. "Right here, Daniel."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Sam pulled into Jack's driveway and shifted into park. They had said very little on the way to his place. Jack had been trying to rest his head and fight through the fog his headache to figure out what he needed to say.

"Here you are, Colonel."

Jack opened his eyes and straightened up in his seat. He had nearly fallen asleep. After a long yawn and stretching his arms, he glanced over at her. "You leaving already, Carter? Thought we might have a little chat."

"Ok, Colonel." Carter turned off the ignition and shut off the lights. "What would you like to chat about, Sir?"

Jack looked at her. "Let's go for a walk, Carter." With that Jack opened his door and hopped out of the car.

Carter followed him as he headed around to the back of the house. Jack led her up to his small observatory on the roof in almost total darkness. They sat down next to each other on the deck, leaning back against the railing. It was a cold and clear October night and Carter pulled her black leather jacket tighter around her. Jack had only a black t-shirt. He'd left his coat in the car.

"Aren't you cold, Sir?"

He smiled and inhaled deeply. The fresh scent of the nearby pine trees was strong on the cold breeze that blew across the deck. "I've developed a new tolerance for the cold, Carter, since our little adventure in Antarctica."

She smiled. "I think that made me more susceptible to the cold."

Several minutes of silence passed. Jack sat there staring up at the clear sky, and Sam glanced at him every few seconds as she rubbed her hands together to keep them warm.

"What's going on, Sir?"

"We've got some issues here, Sam."

She was glad it was dark. She didn't want him to see her soft smile when he said her name.

"Explain to me, please, why we can't know about the future," he said and looked up at the stars.

"Well, Sir…"

"Jack. Right now, it needs to be Jack," he said, not taking his eyes off the sky. "Sorry, go on."

She was silent for a moment, looking at him wondering what was wrong, but his face was calm and relaxed. "Well, let's say someone from the future told you someone you knew was going to die tomorrow. If you saved that's person's life it could profoundly change the future. That person, for example, might go on to have children who were not supposed to exist. If you have knowledge of the future, you have the power to change it and you can't do that."

Jack looked at her finally. "Why?"

"You don't have the right, Sir."

"Jack."

She smiled. "Jack."

He leaned closer to her. "Do you see me, Sam?"

He was looking directly in her eyes. She wanted to look away but couldn't. "Yes," she whispered.

"If you're right, and we aren't allowed to change the future then this moment is over. It's done. I can't change it. What am I supposed to do next?"

"Whatever you want, Jack," she said, her voice husky.

"That's it. We do what we want to do, not what the future says we've done. I won't have some historian a thousand years from now telling me what I should have done." He looked back up to the sky. "It's like the alternate reality thing. This reality, this moment in time is it. It's all we have. If I'd known," he dropped his head and stared down at his hands, "if I'd known Charlie was going to die, I would've stopped it. No one has the right to tell me I couldn't."

"What are you getting at, Jack?"

Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the glass disk.

Her eyes went wide. "Sir, General Hammond ordered you. How did you get that?"

Jack looked at her with raised eyebrows. "How did I get it? Sheesh, Carter. I was running ops when you were in boot camp. Give me some credit. I may not be smarter than you, but I'm a hell of a lot sneakier."

"I trusted you, Jack."

"Not to mess with the future?"

"Yes!"

"Why'd you invite Frasier to dinner?"

She frowned. "Why shouldn't I?"

"I saw the picture of her and Daniel. What are you trying to change?"

She looked away. "Well, who says me inviting them to dinner isn't how they got together?"

"Exactly. You made a choice. Who's to say we aren't supposed to look at these pictures and then go our way?" Jack asked, staring her directly in the eye. "Think about it, Sam. You're here right now because of these pictures. Haven't we already changed the future?"

"You've really been thinking about this. Haven't you?"

"Yeah, well, I bounced some random thoughts off Daniel all afternoon, and he helped me fine tune it."

She could see he was torn. He was smiling but there was something sad in his eyes. "What did you see, Jack?"

He handed her the glass. "I can't tell you, Sam. You have to look if you want to know."

Sam looked down at the glass and then back at Jack. She bit her lip and ran her fingers around the edge of the glass, trying to focus on the cool smooth edge rather than Jack. "Is this complicated, Jack?"

He nodded. "You betcha."

"I should probably go then," she said, more to herself than to Jack.

Jack looked at her. "Probably," he agreed, but neither of them moved. Jack looked back up at the sky but moved a few inches closer to Carter, till their shoulders touched. "She spoke to me, Sam."

"Who, Jack?"

"That woman," he explained. "Jolinar."

"When?"

"While we were there in their infirmary." He shrugged his shoulders. "That telepathy thing K'sal says she has. I heard her voice in my head. It was damn uncomfortable. It wasn't just her voice… there were pictures."

Sam cocked her head to the side and stared at Jack thoughtfully.

"If you had a daughter would you name her Jolinar?"

The question caught her by surprise and made her flinch. "Why would you ask me that?"

Jack merely looked her in the eye.

Carter frowned. "You can't be serious. She… Do you believe her?"

Jack smiled. "Well, you know me, Carter, always the skeptic. Hell, I'm not even sure I believe in the Stargate much less her."

Sam chuckled. "Give it a few more years, Jack, it'll sink in."

"Yeah, you know me. Sometimes it takes me a while to figure things out," he said with a slight grin. "I just wanted you to know, Sam, before we went back tomorrow."

Sam blushed and rested her head on his shoulder. "Jolinar," she whispered. "I guess we'll find out tomorrow, Jack."

Jack felt her shaking and slipped an arm around her shoulders. He turned to her and pressed his face against the top of her head. "I thought you said you should go."

She smiled to herself. "So I did, Jack. Did you want me to leave?"

Jack tightened his arm around her. "No, Sam."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

There was a knock at the door and Daniel opened his eyes as the knocking broke through the clouds of sleep. He yawned and sat up in his chair. He glanced at his watch and saw that is was a quarter till seven.

"Come in," he shouted to the door.

The door cracked open, and Janet's head appeared around the edge. Daniel's face brightened with a smile. They had had a great time at the movie last night. After the movie he'd walked her to her car, and they'd said goodnight awkwardly and parted with a friendly handshake, not exactly what Daniel had planned. Unable to sleep he'd gone back to his office to do some work on some Goa'Uld text from a recent mission to the planet Kelowna. He had a meeting in about an hour with Jonas, the man SG-4 had been negotiating with on Kelowna, but he had to make sure he made it back to get rested for the meeting with the Solari. He knew he could easily end up spending all day and night going over the Goa'Uld ruins on Kelowna.

"Hi, there," she said with a shy smile.

Daniel's stomach knotted up. He couldn't tell if she was shy or uncomfortable at the moment. He hoped she wasn't regretting how friendly they'd gotten at dinner and the movie. "Hi, Janet, come in, please." He stood up and walked over to her.

She stepped in, closed the door behind her, and leaned back against it.

"About last night, Daniel…," she wasn't sure what to say. This was awkward for both of them. They'd known each other for years, and she was his doctor and knew she should know better. Well, sometimes it was best to ignore logic. "I had a really nice time, Daniel."

Daniel nodded and gave a weak smile. "But?"

The shy smile grew, and she gave him a curious look. "There's no 'but', Daniel." She reached toward him, and he took her hands in his. "This is just hard for me. We both have very complicated lives," she said, looking down at their clasped hands and then back up to his face.

He grinned and nodded, that was certainly an understatement. "I understand what you mean, Janet. If you want us to back off then we…"

She shook her head and pressed her finger to his lips to shut him up. The touch of her finger to his lips was electric, and he fought the urge to taste her skin.

"Quit second guessing everything, Daniel. You know sometimes you can be too analytical?" She gave him a soft smile that made her brown eyes beam and that he hoped was just for him.

"Oh, and you can't? How many times have you kept me for hours or days in the infirmary so you could run more tests?"

"You, Sir, are out of line. Don't question your Doctor's orders," she snapped playfully.

"Yes, Doctor," Daniel acquiesced.

She squeezed his hand. "I just wanted to drop in and say good morning before we got all caught up in meetings. General Hammond asked me and Teal'c to contact the Solari to make sure the woman, Jolinar, is doing ok."

"Yeah, I have to hit the gate here in a few minutes so I can get make it back in time for the meeting tomorrow," as he spoke he gently stroked the soft skin of her hands.

"Oh, I nearly forgot. Sam left me a voicemail to let you know not to pick up Jack this morning. She said she tried calling your cell but didn't get an answer."

Daniel smacked his forehead. "Jack! I completely forgot about him," he groaned.

Janet laughed. "Sam's taking care of it. Don't worry."

"So, what she went home last night and is driving all the way back out there?"

Janet shook her head. "Uh, I don't think so. The caller id said she called from Jack's house about 0400."

Shock, confusion, and curiosity passed across Daniel's face. "Really?"

"Daniel!" Janet scolded. She could see his thoughts evident on his face. "You keep quiet. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation."

Daniel smiled to himself. "Still… a nice rumor could deflect attention from us," he said with a devilish grin. "Jack certainly deserves it."

Janet laughed. "Behave."

Daniel sighed. "Alright. But can I at least hold it over Jack?"

Janet shook her head. "Do you want to embarrass Sam?"

He had to admit she was right. As much as he would love for Jack to be shot through the rumor mill he couldn't do it to Sam. There probably was an explanation in any case. "No, of course not."

Janet leaned up and kissed his cheek. She could see the red rising in his face as she pulled away. "Good. Well, I have to go. You be careful," she ordered him. She slowly pulled her hand from his and with a smile headed for the door. She stopped and turned back to him. "I'll be working late tonight. If you get back before I'm gone stop by and we'll have some coffee."

Daniel nodded. "Sure."

She smiled and headed back for the door.

"Dinner? Tomorrow night?" he asked as she opened the door.

She turned to him, her brown eyes locking him with an inquisitive gaze. "Just us?"

Daniel nodded.

"I'd love to."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Jack ran into Carter and Teal'c in the hallway as they were on their way to the gate room. The time for their meeting with the Solari was getting close, and Jack was severely annoyed that Daniel was nowhere to be found.

"Anyone seen, Daniel? We gotta get going here," Jack muttered.

"Doctor Jackson sent a message ten minutes ago indicating that his visit on Kelowna is still taking longer than expected. He promised to come to the Solari meeting as soon as possible," Teal'c explained.

Jack huffed. "Taking longer than expected? He's been gone since yesterday morning!" Jack rolled his eyes and adjusted his hat. Hammond had ordered them into dress uniform for the negotiations, but Jack was far from happy about it. He felt almost naked going through the gate without his cap, body armor, and P-90.

Sam reached up and straightened Jack's tie. "Well, Sir, he contacted Hammond last night and Hammond gave him the ok to stay on for a little while longer. Kelowna is important to us, Sir. We need some of that element, and Daniel is a good negotiator."

Jack shook his head, messing up his tie again. "If these Solari are half as good as they say we may not need it."

General Hammond, Dr. Frasier, and an older balding gentlemen none of them knew were already waiting in the gate room when Jack, Sam, and Teal'c arrived.

"Ambassador Meyer, may I introduce you to Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, and Teal'c. SG-1 this is Ambassador Paul Meyer. The President has entrusted him with leading the negotiations," Hammond said as they walked towards the ramp.

Meyer gave O'Neill a firm handshake. "Delighted to meet you, Colonel. I have heard only great things about your team." He nodded his head politely to Teal'c and Carter. "Pleasure to meet you."

"You're no friend to Kinsey then," Jack said.

Meyer gave a slight snort. "Perish the thought, Colonel." He smiled and went back to talk with Hammond.

"I like him," Jack whispered to Carter.

Frasier walked over to them. Carter had taken off the day before and had been waiting desperately for this moment and was ready to pounce before Frasier even opened her mouth.

"So, what happened?"

"With what?" Frasier asked innocently. She was tempted to shoot the same question back on Sam but knew it would be impolitic with everyone around.

Jack huffed.

"You know what, Janet," Carter replied with a smirk.

Janet blushed slightly. "We went to the movies. That's it."

Carter frowned. "That's it?"

"Well, Teal'c was there so what could have happened in any case." She grinned at Teal'c. "I've never seen you laugh so much," Janet said.

"It was not my intention to be a hindrance in your pursuit of Daniel Jackson, Doctor Frasier. I am truly sorry," Teal'c said and bowed his head respectfully to her.

Jack and Carter shared an amused glance and had to fight the urge to fall over laughing as Frasier's face turned the deepest red they'd ever seen.

"Well, pursuing is… I mean…," she tried to stammer out something, anything but couldn't really think of a response to Teal'c's candidly simple observation.

Were she and Daniel that obvious? "No, Teal'c, I had a lot of fun. It's good to see you laugh once in a while."

"Feelings of affection for a dear friend are nothing to embarrassed about, Doctor Frasier," Teal'c explained.

"Don't worry, Janet. Your secret is safe with us," Carter assured her.

"If," Jack said, emphasizing the word, "we get all the details."

Carter elbowed Jack in the side.

"Careful, Carter, I'm getting old," Jack cautioned.

"Well, we are having dinner tonight," she offered, against her better judgment. O'Neill didn't need any more fuel to spread rumors.

"Oh, a date," Carter teased. "If we get back in time I may have to take you shopping."

"Time to go, Colonel," Hammond said as the blast wave shot out from the gate.

"So, we're going through that?" Meyer asked apprehensively. He pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his forehead.

"Nothing to it, Ambassador. You like roller coasters right?" O'Neill asked.

"Um, no, not really, Colonel."

Jack grimaced. "Well, then it's nothing like a roller coaster so you're all set."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

K'sal and Thor were waiting for them when they stepped from the wormhole. They exchanged greetings as O'Neill introduced everyone. K'sal did not seem at all pleased by the presence of Meyer, who could hardly take his eyes off the strange aliens. She led them from the gate room and back toward the glass meeting room.

"So, how's Jolinar doing?" O'Neill asked, knowing Frasier would be concerned.

K'sal nodded her head. "Very well, Colonel. Again we must thank Dr. Frasier for that. Her nanites are now fully restored, and all her wounds are healed. She will be joining us in the meeting shortly."

"I'm glad to hear that," Janet said.

"Yeah, we've got some questions," Jack said.

Another Solari was waiting for them in the meeting room. He appeared rather young with sculpted features, though he had no hair, and his body seemed to be clearer than K'sal's. They could almost see completely through his hands.

K'sal placed her right hand over her heart and bowed slightly to the man who nodded to her. "This is Sol Baelon. He is commander of all Solari military forces, and answers to the emperor alone. He will decide the fate of these negotiations."

"That doesn't sound promising," Jack muttered to Carter.

"Sol?" Carter asked curiously.

"It is my rank, Major Carter," Baelon explained. "It signifies me as the highest commander of the military."

Carter nodded and gave a polite smile, while giving K'sal a curious glance. Hadn't K'sal called her Sol?

Hammond stepped to the front of the group. "I am General George Hammond of the United States Airforce. We are honored to be here."

"I am honored that you have come. Please, sit," Baelon said as he took a seat.

They took their seats around the table.

"Before we begin, I must express some confusion, General." Baelon looked directly at Meyer. "You and SG-1 were invited to return here. Who is this man?"

"Ambassador Paul Meyer. He is the representative of our government," Hammond explained.

"Unfortunately, General Hammond, this is not possible," Thor said. "The Solari wish to negotiate with you, not your government."

Hammond shook his head. "I don't understand."

"Quite simply, General Hammond, the Tauri as a whole cannot be trusted. We are willing and ready to aid you in your war against the Goa'Uld, but we will only negotiate with you and SG-1 personally. That is our requirement if these talks are to proceed."

Hammond turned to Meyer who looked rather put out. "There is no harm in talking, General Hammond. They seem set on this choice, and if we want their help we must respect it. Please, proceed."

"Very well," Hammond agreed.

"I assure you, General, the Solari have my full confidence," Thor said.

O'Neill raised his hand.

Baelon nodded at him respectfully. "May I help you, Colonel?"

"Yeah, thanks. I just have to ask. What exactly did the Asgard do for you? You guys seem pretty friendly for having been out of touch for a while."

Baelon glanced at Thor. "The Asgard saved us from genocide," he said deferentially and looked back at Jack. "We were once as you are, Colonel. We were at the mercy of a ruthless and superior military power."

Jack raised his hand again. "Well, I wouldn't exactly say we're at their mercy."

"Nonetheless, at every turn you face the very real prospect of annihilation," he countered. "So did we, before we were as advanced as we are now. We are not native to this dimension. We fled here from our home because we were being slaughtered by an ancient menace. We arrived in this universe defenseless and dying. Not only were our numbers cut down by war, but this universe began to kill us." He stood up and walked to the window. Though he had his back to them they could hear him just as clearly, as if his voice spoke directly to their minds. "Time does not exist in our dimension exactly as it does here. We were immortal there. The time flow here wreaked havoc on our bodies. The crystalline formations that make up our cells were unable to withstand the rigors of a timeline that encompasses past, present, and future. When the Asgard found us there were just over five thousand of us left."

"We helped them develop the nanotechnology which keeps them alive," Thor explained. "The nanites are constantly at work repairing the damage to their cells as quickly as it occurs."

"That's incredible," Frasier said.

"Can't you just go home now?" Carter asked.

Baelon turned back to them. "It is in fact our desire to go home that keeps me from offering as much assistance as I would like. We are currently engaged in a protracted war with our old nemesis to reclaim our homeworld. We do not have the resources to mount a quick and decisive campaign against the Goa'Uld so far from our base of power."

Hammond leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "We ask no one to fight our battles for us, certainly not if it would endanger their own people."

"I am aware," Baelon said simply. "However, I have spoken with the emperor, and he sympathizes with your situation. Not to mention the fact that you have helped our friends, the Asgard, on more than one occasion. The friend of our friend shall not be forgotten."

Hammond smiled. "We are very appreciative of any assistance."

"Several teams of Solari scientists have already been dispatched to the Asgard homeworld. We are confident that working alongside the Asgard they can quickly develop an effective weapon against the Replicators," Baelon said.

"Well, that would certainly be helpful," Jack said.

Thor pointed to O'Neill. "You must understand, O'Neill, as we have said before, that the Asgard are currently unable to enforce the Protected Planets Treaty in full. Your continued attacks against the system lords are fueling a dangerous fire."

"We cannot simply put our weapons aside in the face of the enemy," Teal'c countered.

"No, of course, but neither can we continually defend your position as a Protected Planet. The Goa'Uld grow increasingly agitated that you attack them with impunity yet remain protected. This situation cannot continue." Thor looked directly at O'Neill. "If the Goa'Uld attack Earth, and the Asgard are unable to offer a quick and effective response then all planets on the treaty will be at risk."

Baelon crossed his arms and thought a moment before he spoke. "However, we realize the danger in ceasing attacks against the Goa'Uld completely. Your attacks have created confusion and distrust among the Goa'Uld, more so than usual. This atmosphere must be maintained until either we or the Asgard have the resources to deal with the situation in finality."

"What exactly do you want us to do?" Jack asked.

Baelon returned to his seat. A holographic projection of a planet covered completely in ice appeared above the table. "This planet is called Vani."

Jack sat up straight, and Carter glanced over at him. "What was that?" Jack asked.

"Vani, it is located on the far side of your galaxy. The entire surface of the planet is covered in ice eight miles thick. Beneath the ice lies a vast ocean. One hundred miles below the surface of the ice, on the ocean floor, is a Solari facility nearing completion."

"Jolinar, she said 'Vani,'" Frasier reminded them.

Baelon nodded. "We will deal with her shortly. This facility was to be used as a long range outpost. However, the emperor has authorized me to turn this facility over to you."

"What could we use it for?" Carter asked.

"Attention must be drawn away from your planet. We recommend setting up your SGC in this base. Our technology will allow for more rapid, effective, and disruptive attacks against the Goa'Uld. The Goa'Uld will be distracted by these attacks, and they will be forced to expend resources determining their source. It is our hope that you could even succeed in causing a full civil war amongst the system lords."

"Yeah, we tried that, hasn't really worked out," Jack said.

"With our help it can," Baelon said definitively. He turned to K'sal. "Bring in Jolinar, Desra K'sal."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Jolinar entered the room followed by K'sal. No guards accompanied them. O'Neill's and Carter's eyes were glued to the young woman who merely glanced at them and nodded in acknowledgement. The two women took up seats on either side of Sol Baelon. Dr. Frasier was amazed to see that she was indeed fully healed. Jolinar noticed Dr. Frasier and gave her a warm smile.

"Dr. Jackson is not here?" Jolinar asked Frasier.

Janet frowned, why was she asking her and what business was it of hers where Daniel was. "Umm, no, he isn't."

Jolinar cast her eyes down to the table and became very solemn.

Their attention was drawn to the center of the table when another hologram appeared. It looked like three strands of DNA. Baelon spoke, "We have been able to confirm Jolinar's story. I am satisfied with what she has told me."

Jack couldn't resist. "And that would be?"

Baelon manipulated the touch screen on the table and zoomed in on the strands of DNA, highlighting similarities. "Do you see the likenesses in these DNA strands? The central strand belongs to Jolinar. The upper strand is Colonel O'Neill's and the bottom strand is Major Carter's."

Janet turned to look at Sam who was only staring down at her hands, her face pale. Jack stared thoughtfully at Jolinar, his chin resting on his hand.

"What exactly does that mean?" Hammond asked.

"Jolinar claims to be, and according to our genetic tests is, Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter's daughter," Baelon explained.

Janet shook her head. "No, you never took DNA samples from either of them."

"Their genetic information was recorded into our computers the moment they came through the gate," K'sal explained. "It is standard security."

Hammond leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "I would like Dr. Frasier to perform her own examination, if you don't mind. It can't hurt to double check."

"Of course, General," Baelon agreed.

Jack rubbed his temple and closed his eyes. "Ok, for one second, one short second, let's assume she's telling the truth. Why? Why is she here?"

"I am here to save the future of Earth and Vani, both of which are in grave danger in my time," Jolinar snapped angrily.

"Your time?" Hammond asked.

"I come from the year 2103."

Jack clapped his hands together. "Ha, there you are. There's no way you could be our daughter if you're from that far in the future. We'd be dead by the time you were born."

"That's right," Carter said. She couldn't tell if she was disappointed or relieved.

"Unfortunately that is not the case. I am much older than I appear," Jolinar explained.

Baelon nodded in agreement. "Our scans did pinpoint her age at approximately one hundred years. This is consistent with the nanites she carries."

"Hey, I had nanites once, and they made me grow older not younger," Jack argued.

"Our nanites repair cell damage and maintain the cells at their optimum," Baelon began.

"And aging is a type of cell damage," Frasier said, more as an observation to herself than to anyone.

Baelon nodded. "Correct."

"So, wait, these nanites prevent aging indefinitely?" Carter asked.

"After a certain point. They of course do not prevent children from growing up. They keep the cell at the age where it is most beneficial," K'sal explained.

Carter and O'Neill locked eyes with each other. He had warned her of course about Jolinar's claim but this was all surreal to both of them.

"On Vani even children now are born with nanites passed on from the mother. This is how deeply the technology has woven into our society," Jolinar said.

"That's why all of you are so young," O'Neill said. Everyone looked at him. "Well, we haven't seen a single person here who looks older than thirty."

"But why are you here?" Hammond asked.

"First to bring you and the Solari together. Our history records that the Solari and Asgard did not reestablish communication until four years from now. By then it was too late for the Solari to help. The Replicators had overrun too many Asgard worlds and destroyed too much of their fleet. The Asgard were forced to retreat to the safety of Vani, what few of them were left. Of course, this left the Protected Planets Treaty in ruins. Earth and Vani did their best to fight back the Goa'Uld and for a time were quite successful as the Goa'Uld were at war against the Solari and still are."

"The Goa'Uld do not have the technology to make war against us," Baelon said. "You did not mention this before."

Jolinar frowned. "Be content that I mention it at all! By telling you anything I risk my own existence."

"Then why do it?" Jack asked.

Sadness filled Jolinar's eyes as she looked at Jack. "Because if I didn't my life and the lives of those I care about would surely end anyway. With the help of the Ardai the Goa'Uld gained better footing against the Solari. The Goa'Uld have not achieved victory over the Solari certainly, but they have asserted their influence over this galaxy. With the Solari withdrawing to their own system, still warring with the Ardai, and on the edge of civil war, we find ourselves without allies. Then there is also the matter of the Trien, Amun-Re's mysterious warriors."

"The Trien are not native to his dimension either. I thought they were extinct," Baelon said, uncertainty on his face.

"Who are the Ardai?" Hammond asked.

"Our old enemy, General. The ones who forced us from our home," Baelon said angrily..

"Yes, they used the Goa'Uld to draw you into battle in this universe and drain resources away from your campaign against them," Jolinar said. "Now, the Goa'Uld are once again focusing on dominating this galaxy. Vani is their primary target. We are the greatest threat. However, they have been unable to locate us, but now we have been betrayed."

"By whom?" Carter asked.

"Earth," Jolinar replied with hatred. "They have turned their backs on their brothers and sisters. Earth negotiated for peace with the Goa'Uld. In exchange for being left alone they have virtually buried their gate and given away the position of Vani. We are technologically powerful but one planet cannot stave off the entire might of the system lords united under Amun-Re."

"Do not speak his name," Teal'c snarled.

Everyone looked at Teal'c.

"You ok, buddy?" Jack asked.

"His name is a curse among Jaffa. To speak his name is to bring punishment of death to you and your family. Jaffa know him as father of the gods, but most believe him to be only a myth."

Jolinar let out a deep breath. "Unfortunately, he is quite real. The nearly 300,000 citizens of Vani face unequivocal destruction. Once we are gone the Goa'Uld will not hesitate to destroy Earth next. Treaties are meaningless to them. The war you are fighting so bravely ends in failure, unless things can be changed."

"Ok, so we are meeting the Solari a few years earlier than we were supposed to, is that going to help much?" Hammond asked.

Baelon appeared thoughtful. "Perhaps. If we can defeat the Replicators now, before they go too far, then the Asgard will be able to recover. If we know that the Ardai plan on enlisting the aid of the Goa'Uld we can make preparations. There is an opportunity here."

Thor nodded. "I agree. However, the choices we make could save or destroy us. How much faith can we place in this woman? Perhaps, you are convinced, Sol Baelon. I must confess that I am not."

Jack raised his hand. "I second that. She doesn't even look like me." Jack glanced at Carter who didn't seem to be taking this with the same levity. She glanced occasionally at Jolinar but mostly kept her eyes locked on the holographic strands of DNA.

Jolinar shook her head and smiled. "You certainly haven't changed."

Jack frowned. "Don't do that."

Meyer, who had been sitting quietly and taking notes, leaned over and whispered to Hammond.

"Ambassador Meyer finds it hard to believe, and I tend to agree, that Earth would betray its own people," Hammond said.

"Unfortunately, General Hammond, Earth and Vani veered onto different courses very early on. Our treaty with the Solari indicates that all technology given must be given to only authorized personnel and based solely off Vani. The United States government demanded we turn over whatever technologies we had for study. We refused of course, or rather you refused, General Hammond. Vani developed into a very advanced society that embraced cybernetic, genetic, and nanotech enhancements, quite different from the Tauri. We developed our own culture and language. In 2020 we declared independence from Earth and established our own government. Relations declined rapidly after that. We still offered Earth our protection, but we ceased to live and work by their leave."

"Then perhaps this whole off-world base is a bad idea," Carter suggested.

Terror filled Jolinar's face. "No, you can't stop it. Vani is my home. The homes to hundreds of thousands. You can't just make it vanish, but you need to secure it and Earth's future. I didn't risk everything to come back here so that you would simply turn your back on me. Vani saved Earth from several devastating Goa'Uld attacks. If the lives of the Asgard can be preserved and Amun-Re can be destroyed then we believe everything will work out."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "You believe?"

"It is our only hope."

"Why did you come back now? To this time?" Carter asked.

"The Solari only recently set up this outpost and even in our time it is the only Solari facility we know the location of. This was the soonest we could push the Asgard and Solari back into contact."

"How did you come back?" Carter pressed.

"In an attempt to understand why time flow causes such detrimental effects the Solari were experimenting with time. Part of this experiment included controlled time travel. That is the function of the outer ring on their gate," Jolinar replied.

"Wow," Carter breathed.

"Tel a shia," Baelon snapped angrily at Jolinar. "That is classified."

"We have no time for secrets, Baelon. I am trying to save your people as well," Jolinar replied. "You said you were convinced. So trust me."

"Hello, still not convinced here," Jack said.

"I will return with you to the SGC so Dr. Frasier may do her tests," Jolinar said.

"Very well. In the meantime we should begin actual negotiations here, because I know you must be very busy, Sol Baelon," Hammond said.

"Of course, General. We have drawn up a preliminary treaty of what we will offer and what we expect in return. We can discuss it, and then you can take some time to think on it," Baelon offered.

"Very well," Hammond agreed.

"Here we go," Jack said, trying not to yawn.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The negotiations had continued for several hours. The Solari were insistent that any technology they gave would be kept under tight control on the off-world base. They had also demanded that command of the off-world facility must be given to Hammond or O'Neill, as they were the only ones the Solari were willing to trust. It got rather for complicated for Jack, and he stopped paying complete attention after a while. All he could focus his mind on was Carter and what had to be going on in her mind. They were all happy to return to the SGC.

They walked down the ramp and Walter's voice came over the intercom. "Dr. Frasier, you are needed in the quarantine room immediately. It's Dr. Jackson."

Janet's face paled, and she felt a weakness in her legs. Her head throbbed, and she glanced fearfully at Jack.

Jolinar touched Janet on the arm and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry."

O'Neill nodded silently to Hammond and took Frasier gently by the arm and led her out of the gate room.

Hammond ordered some of the airmen to transport Jolinar to a holding cell under heavy guard and to have Meyer sent to his office.

Hammond turned to Carter, "I'm going to find out why we weren't contacted earlier. You two go."

"Yes, Sir," Carter said and rushed out of the gate room with Teal'c.

They ran into the quarantine room where Frasier and O'Neill were standing by Daniel's bed. Things were quiet in the room, too quiet. They had expected Frasier to be shouting orders in every direction as her hands jumped skillfully at a dozen tasks. They walked over to Daniel's bed. Frasier turned and looked at Carter. Janet's eye were glistening with unshed tears and the despondent look on her face turned Carter's stomach.

Janet opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She closed her eyes and turned back to Daniel who lay wrapped from head to toe in bloody bandages and hooked to ivs.

"Radiation," Jack said quietly as Carter and Teal'c stepped up to his side.

"Oh my God," Carter whispered.

They all turned as Hammond walked in. He appeared not too happy.

Janet snapped her head up and looked at him directly. "Sir, why we were not contacted immediately? I should have been here!"

Hammond let out a deep breath and approached them. "They said they tried. It happened about three hours ago. For some reason the gate wouldn't lock. But, Doctor, it wouldn't have made a difference. They tell me his condition is fatal."

Janet's lip trembled. "It would've made a difference to me, Sir," she replied with more anger than she meant. Her face softened apologetically on the General.

Hammond gave her a compassionate look and nodded. "Is he conscious?"

O'Neill shook his head. "He's just sleeping, Sir."

"Which I can't do with everyone talking," Daniel mumbled brokenly.

"Daniel?" Janet leaned over to stare him in the eyes.

He mustered a weak smile. "Hi there."

She grinned, trying to keep her tears back. "Hi."

Daniel closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as a spasm of pain overpowered his control and a violent cough tore at his lungs and ripped at his throat. "I'm so sorry," he said, almost inaudibly, his voice breaking. He lost consciousness.

Janet's tears fell on the bandages across Daniel's chest.

"Hell, no!" Jack snapped suddenly. "Get Jolinar down here, General. If those nanites can heal her, then they came damn well help Daniel. I don't care what the hell she has to do. I'll dig them out of her with my bare hands if I have to."

They all turned to Jack. Their faces were beyond shock. Teal'c raised his eyebrow and locked his gaze with O'Neill, concern evident on his face. Janet's eyes betrayed some glimmer of hope. Carter crossed her arms and looked away. Jack was evidently willing to trust this woman to save Daniel, a woman claiming to be their daughter.

"Bring her down, Teal'c," Hammond ordered.

Teal'c nodded and exited the room. They all stood in silence around Daniel's bed until Teal'c returned with Jolinar following. She walked directly over to Daniel and led her hand gently on the top of his head. Her affection and sadness were evident on her face. She glanced across the bed where Carter stood on the other side.

"You knew this was going to happen," Carter accused her.

Jolinar nodded.

"Why didn't you warn us?" Jack asked. "If you are who you say you are, you would've warned us."

Jolinar shook her head plaintively. "I'm sorry Daniel had to go through this, but this is how it must be."

Janet, standing beside Jolinar, clasped Daniel's hand, his blood warm on her skin. "Can you save him?"

Jolinar smiled and placed a compassionate hand on Janet's shoulder. "Even if it cost my life. I told you not to worry, Janet. Daniel's journey is not yet over."

Janet locked eyes with Jolinar, searching her face. "Who are you?"

Jolinar turned back to Daniel and pressed a fingertip to his lips, one of the few places of exposed skin. O'Neill jumped when the heart monitor next to him suddenly beeped. Janet glanced at it in terror and then at Jolinar.

"Do not concern yourself. The nanites have merely placed him in stasis while they repair the damage. It will take some time and will be exceedingly painful," Jolinar explained.

"How painful?" Frasier asked breathlessly.

Jolinar furrowed her brow. "In my body the nanites dull the pain when there is a wound and as they are healing it. Unfortunately Daniel's condition is so severe that they must focus all their energy on healing him and keeping him alive. Their ability to diminish the pain will be greatly reduced until they stabilize him. It will be torture in his mind. Even in stasis he will feel it."

"Can I give him something?" Frasier asked.

Jolinar nodded. "It will help but a little."

"Ok, we should take turns watching him," Jack said. "It's been a long day."

"I'll stay until its done. I'll need to monitor him," Frasier said with a firmness that told everyone she wasn't leaving.

Jack rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Alright, the rest of us will run to the commissary and grab some supper. Can I bring you something, Doc?"

"No, I'm fine, Colonel, thank you," Janet replied sweetly. "Thank you, Jack," she said, trying to keep her voice from breaking.

Jack gave her one of his soft, knowing smiles.

"Keep me apprised, Doctor. I need to speak with the Ambassador and then contact the President," Hammond said and left the room.

Jolinar turned to Jack. "Can I join you in the commissary?"

Jack was silent for a moment. "Yeah, fine."

Jack led the way to the commissary with Jolinar at his side and Teal'c and Carter following silently behind. Once inside Jack and Jolinar grabbed their trays and started picking through the selections. Teal'c and Carter took a seat at one of the tables.

"What is that?" Jolinar asked Jack curiously, pointing to a bowl of red jell-o.

Jack huffed. "It's jello-o. Sheesh, I thought you said you people were advanced. Don't touch the blue one or you'll have to face Carter."

Jolinar heaved a sigh. "Maybe then she'd actually pay attention to me."

"Oh, she's paying attention," Jack corrected her.

"Well, alright she pays attention, how about if she would talk to me then. She doesn't seem to be dealing well with me," Jolinar said.

Jack glanced over his shoulder at Carter who was resting her head on her arms. "Yeah, I noticed that."

"I thought you'd be the difficult one," she confessed to him.

Jack stopped as he was about to grab a slice of chocolate cake and looked at her. "Oh, I am. I'm just hiding it better."

Jolinar shook her head. "No, I think you are starting to believe me. I know that you want to."

Jack ignored her and moved on down the food bar. He grabbed a glass of water and joined Carter and Teal'c at the table. After removing his dress jacket and tossing it over the back of his chair he took a seat. He was glad to get that off at least.

"Go get some sleep, Carter," Jack ordered. He reached up and loosened the tie that had been growing tighter around his neck all day.

Sam sat up and stretched. Jolinar took a seat next to Teal'c. "Yes, Sir, I think I'll do that. Good night," she said and stood up. "I'll check on Daniel and Janet in a couple of hours, Sir."

Jack nodded as he took a bite from his turkey sandwich.

"Good night, Major," Jolinar said.

Carter gave her an uneasy smile and left the room.

"Just making it worse," Jack muttered.

Jolinar pushed her tray of food away.

"Is there a problem with your appetite?" Teal'c asked.

"No, I'm just not hungry. I don't really need to eat anyway. My nanites take care of most of my needs."

Jack gave a snort. "Keep your little robots, and I'll keep my pie."

"Jack?" Jolinar said hesitantly.

Jack detected a strange, almost fearful tone in her voice. He looked across the table at her. She appeared to him suddenly to be very tired.

"I know you took all my things. I understand, but can I have my photo glass back? Please."

He studied her face for a moment. She was afraid. He turned and reached into the pocket of his dress jacket and pulled out the small glass disk and handed it to her. She grabbed it tentatively and then wrapped both her hands around it and gave him a thankful smile. Jack glanced at Teal'c who seemed equally unsure of the woman.

"Teal'c, would you mind taking Jolinar back to her room? She looks like she could use some rest."

Teal'c nodded his assent. "Of course, O'Neill."

Jolinar stood up and followed Teal'c without giving Jack another glance.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Janet opened her eyes with a start and straightened up in the chair she had placed next to Daniel's bed. How could she have let herself fall asleep? True she had been up for a while, but she shouldn't have nodded off. She glanced at her watch, and it was almost two in the morning. It had been over six hours since Jolinar had touched him.

"Hi," Daniel whispered, trying not to startle her.

She looked at Daniel. His blue eyes were watching her. She smiled. "Daniel, you're awake. How long have you been up?"

"Not very long. I was just watching you sleep." He smiled.

Her face turned red. "Why were you doing that?"

"It was relaxing," he whispered. "You're so beautiful, Jan. I'm sorry I waited so long to tell you. I've wanted to tell you."

She squeezed his hand. "Better late than never, Daniel." A tear ran down her cheek. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I'm sorry… I wasn't here for you."

"Shhhh," he whispered soothingly. "You're here now."

She nodded and smiled tenderly. "And I'm staying."

"So much pain," he groaned and shut his eyes tightly. When he opened them again they were glistening. "These bandages on my face are killing me. Jan, please…"

Janet ached for him. She was keenly aware of what happened to a body suffering from that much radiation. She stood up and leaned over him. She gently began to unroll the bandages covering his head. Beneath the thick bloody bandages she discovered unblemished skin and Daniel's warm face smiling at her. She disposed of the bandages and brought over a bowl of warm water. Daniel's eyes closed again as she began to clean the dried blood from his face. He tried to ignore the pain in his muscles, the burning in his skin, and the ache throughout his body and focused on the warm rag on his face and the soft warm hand that gently guided it. After his face was clean she set the rag aside and cupped his cheek, turning his face towards her. She leaned down close to him, and he could smell the jasmine on her skin.

She arched an eyebrow and gave a contented sigh. "You ruined our date," she said, with a mischievous smile.

"I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"Let me help." She closed her eyes and caught his lips with hers.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Jack waved the airmen aside and stepped into the holding room, closing the door behind him. He had just visited Daniel who, though still very weak, was certainly looking much better but had still been ordered to remain in bed by an authoritative Dr. Frasier. Poor Daniel, already whipped Jack mused.

Jolinar was sitting up in bed with her back against the wall and her knees pulled up under her chin. Jack could see she had been crying. The glass lay on the bed beside her. There was a picture on it, but Jack couldn't make it out from where he stood.

He cleared his throat nervously. "You ok?"

She didn't move her head, but her dark green eyes glanced at him. "I am quite alone, Jack," she said faintly, her voice thick with emotion.

"I know how it feels to be far from home," Jack said. "I've done the time-traveling thing myself."

"I know you have, but it's not the same. You had friends with you, and… you got back home." She tilted her head slightly and looked at him. "How is Daniel?" She asked expectantly.

"Good." Jack stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the door. "I, uh, wanted to thank you. You saved his life. Now, that means something."

She lifted her head up. "You believe me?"

Jack sighed. "I haven't quite figured that part out yet. It's complicated."

"Yes, I suppose it is. I hope to earn your trust. Dr. Frasier sent a nurse this morning to take a sample of my DNA."

"Yeah, but I'm betting she's going to get the same results that those Solari folks did."

Jolinar nodded. "It is the truth. I had hoped…," she stopped and looked away from him.

Jack frowned. "What?"

She wiped her eyes. "I had hoped that you would see me and would just know. That you would just recognize something in me." A few tears ran down her cheeks. "You always told me I was special to you."

Jack ignored his better judgment and walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. He glanced down at the glass. It was a picture of Jolinar resting her head on the shoulder a young man Jack thought he knew but couldn't quite place. He picked up the glass and handed it to her. "That's a good picture of you."

She smiled sadly. "That's my husband."

Jack's face softened. "I'm sorry. What is his name?"

"Ian. Daniel reminds me of him so much."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Daniel is his father," she explained.

"Oh," Jack mouthed the word. "And Janet is…"

Jolinar nodded.

"When were you going home? I'm sure he misses you."

"Are you allowing me to leave?" She asked in surprise.

Jack reached up and ran his hand through his silvering hair. "Well, I really don't think we could stop you if you wanted to leave. Could we?"

"Unfortunately, I have not completed my mission. There is still Amun-Re to deal with." She smiled wistfully. "I miss my home. Ian, I… I don't know what happened to him. He was with me on my mission to come here but remained behind to fight the Ardai and buy me time."

"Aren't you worried that this will change things? That when you go back he might not know you?"

Jolinar nodded. "It terrifies me, but we do what we must and can only hope things work out." She glanced down at her hands, which were trembling, and when she looked back up tears were freely running down her face. "You told me that it would be ok. You trusted me with this. I cannot allow myself to fail. But… I can't go home. If I succeed… the world I knew will be changed and this Jolinar will no longer have a place. I will cease to exist and be forgotten."

Jack tentatively reached out a hand to cup her face. The rough pad of his thumb smeared the tears across her cheek.

She fastened her green eyes on his brown ones. "Dad…?" She whispered, her voice shaking.

Jack bit his lip and smiled. "C'mere," he said softly.

She slipped into his arms and buried her face in his shoulder, weeping bitterly. Jack strengthened his arms around her as he gently rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. She put her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"I'm here. You're not alone, Jolie," Jack whispered into her hair.

Jolinar tilted her face up and grinned through her tears.

Jack smiled awkwardly. Yeah, he knew that grin. "What are you grinning at?"

"Nothing. It's just you've always called me Jolie since I was little."

Jack pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the last tears from her face. "Come on, Daniel wants to see you. You don't need to stay in here anymore."

Jack pulled away from her slowly and went and opened the door and gestured for her towards the hall.

Jolinar and Jack walked side-by-side towards the infirmary.

"Where is the Major?"

Jack was hoping to avoid any questions about Carter. He was too busy trying to deal with his own new conflicts. "She and Teal'c are visiting with Daniel, trying to find out what happened to him on that planet."

They walked on in silence for a few minutes. She could tell her question had bothered him.

He glanced at her. "So, are you saying I'm related to Daniel in the future?" he said with a groan.

Jolinar laughed. "You did complain quite a bit. You griped that adding two doctors to the family would negate our coolness. You threatened Daniel to keep his son away from me, told him you'd kick his ass."

"Quite true," Jack agreed. "So I would."

"However, you were not quite as brave to Janet and Mom," she said with smirk.

Jack shrugged and just kept his eyes straight ahead. "Well, Frasier, she's got those big honkin' needles."

Jolinar laughed.

"And I let her name you after a snake?" Jack asked.

Jolinar shook her head. "No." She gave him a cryptic smile. "You named me."

They came into the quarantine room and Daniel was sitting up in bed talking quietly with Sam and Teal'c. Janet was soundly asleep in the chair next to Daniel's bed. Daniel smiled at Jolinar when he saw her. She and Jack joined the others, moving quietly to avoid waking up Janet, who, except for a short nap, had stayed up far too long.

"Here you are, Daniel," Jack said gesturing to Jolinar.

Carter intentionally ignored Jolinar's gaze and looked only at Daniel.

"Thank you, Jolinar. It looks like I owe you one," Daniel said.

"Please, it was my honor to help you."

Carter suddenly became very thoughtful. "Wait, you knew this was going to happen, Jolinar."

Jolinar nodded.

"You knew because it was part of your history. Daniel should have died, but the picture of him and Janet…"

"What picture?" Daniel interrupted.

"In our history Daniel did die from this incident, rather he ascended. Sometime later he did return and that is when…"

Daniel nodded. "Oma told me it wasn't my time to go yet. I decided she was right." He looked over and smiled at the sleeping Janet.

"But why would you decide to not ascend this time as opposed to in Jolinar's past?" Carter questioned.

Jack smiled and winked at Sam. "It's like I said, Carter. It's about the moment. We choose our own fate."

"Indeed," Teal'c concurred.

Daniel cast a curious look at Jack, that was rather deep of him. "Being philosophical again, Jack, but you're right. I can't explain it. Perhaps, in Jolinar's history I did ascend, but that wasn't my moment. It wasn't me. I have made my choice. This is where I belong."

"If the Solari have taught me anything it is that time is not static," Jolinar said. "It could have been you who saved Daniel's life, Major Carter. You invited Janet to dinner. You drew her and Daniel closer, and perhaps that was enough that Daniel's perspective changed. Perhaps it changed before that. Things are not so simple anymore. If he had wanted to ascend my nanites could not have prevented it."

"How could you possibly know about me inviting Janet, if it hadn't happened before?" Carter asked. "Colonel, things are changing so much. This woman wants to change her future with surgical precision, but it's not possible. Who knows what will happen because Daniel survived?"

Daniel frowned. "Are you saying you wanted me to die?"

"Of course not. I'm just saying Jolinar needs to understand what she's doing."

Jolinar's face glowed with anger. "The Solari trained me for this mission. Their unique experience with time grants them a larger perspective, and they taught me. They opened my eyes to the currents of time. I can see things that help guide my actions. Do not treat me like a fool, Major Carter. You have no idea what I have given up. You think I traveled blindly back in time to change a few random events and hope for the best. I know what I'm doing. We need Daniel here, alive. Our mission to destroy Amun-Re would fail without him."

Carter looked away, her face red with anger and embarrassment.

Jack cleared his throat. "Our mission?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

At noon SG-1and Jolinar sat in the briefing room and had been waiting an hour for General Hammond to get off the phone. Even Daniel was present, though with a vigilant Dr. Frasier at his side. The effect of Jolinar's nanites was clear, but she still kept a protective eye on him. They were all tired, except for Teal'c, as they'd had little sleep through the night worrying over Daniel, but it wasn't anything they weren't used to.

"Sorry about that folks," Hammond said as he walked into the briefing room. "My briefing the President took longer than expected."

"Any answer?" Jack asked. Baelon's insistence that either he or Hammond be in command of the off-world facility had been tugging at the back of his mind.

Running an off-world base would require even more time and energy, and he knew Hammond was getting tired.

"The President is cautiously optimistic about the treaty. He is going over it with his advisors as we speak before making a final decision."

"It is a promising offer the Solari make," Teal'c said.

"I agree," Hammond replied. He turned to Daniel. "Dr. Jackson, you seem to be doing much better. I'm glad to see you up and about."

"Yes, General, thanks to Doctor Frasier and Jolinar I'm almost back to my old self."

Janet shook her heard and smiled fondly at Jolinar. "No, General, it was Jolinar. She saved his life."

Hammond looked at Jolinar. "Thank you, Jolinar. You've gone far in trying to earn our trust."

Jolinar nodded her head respectfully to Hammond.

"Dr. Jackson, Major Carter and Teal'c briefed me on your account of what happened on Kelowna, but the Kelownan government is telling SG-4 a different story."

"They're lying," Jolinar said firmly.

Everyone looked at her.

"How do you know that?" Hammond asked.

Jolinar stared at Hammond in disbelief. "Well, first, because Daniel wouldn't lie about the matter. You know that, General, and secondly because I know my history. If you want to trade with Kelowna then Jonas is the one you must get through."

A blurry vision of Jonas in an SGC uniform suddenly flashed into Daniel's mind. He closed his eyes a moment and bowed his head and reached up to rub his temple. His vision was growing worse by the minute.

"Are you alright, Daniel?" Janet asked with a tinge of concern in her voice.

"Vision is just a little blurry, giving me a headache."

"Remove your glasses, Daniel," Jolinar suggested.

Daniel pulled off his glasses and opened his eyes. His vision was still slightly off but was growing rapidly clearer. "Wow, that's much better."

"I suspected," Jolinar replied.

"What?" Frasier questioned.

"The nanites have repaired the major damage to his body and are moving to less pressing concerns, such as correcting his vision."

"Hmm, yeah, what else will these things do to me?" Daniel asked curiously.

Jolinar leaned back in her chair and smiled. "No worries, Daniel, they are only there to help."

"Well, General, Jolie here wants us to go with her on a little mission to take out this Amun-Re," Jack said.

"Jolie, Sir?" Carter questioned, giving him an awkward glance.

Jack waved it off. "Just saving myself some breath, Carter. Anyway, she says this Amun-Re is still in stasis and it should be a piece of cake."

"I didn't say that, Da… Colonel," Jolinar said. "It will be quite difficult."

"What can you tell us about him, Dr. Jackson?"

A vision of an extremely elaborate Goa'Uld sarcophagus unlike any Daniel had ever seen flashed into his mind, and then quickly vanished.

"Dr. Jackson?" Hammond pressed after a few moments of silence.

Daniel shook his head slightly and glanced at Hammond. "Oh, sorry. Well, not much really, I mean there isn't much I can say about Amun-Re. I have heard nothing about him among the Goa'Uld. Of course, in Egyptian mythology he was known as the "Secret One", so perhaps he's lying low," Daniel said tossing up his hands in defeat.

Carter leaned forward over the table, rested her chin on her hand and stared hard at Jolinar. "Why should we do this? We're meeting the Solari several years earlier. Isn't that enough?"

Jolinar shook her head. "I don't know. That may not be enough to counter the threat of Amun-Re. I must be sure, and it must be done quickly."

"If you say he won't wake up for decades then what's the rush?" Hammond asked.

"You will need my help to destroy him, but if you don't hurry I will be in no shape to offer any help," she replied.

"Why is that?" Teal'c asked.

"I already feel the effects of temporal cascade failure. The Solari of my time gave me a piece of technology that will temporarily lessen the effects, but it is not permanent. Eventually the tremors will kill me."

Carter then turned her eyes on Jolinar and clenched her hands on the arms of her chair.

"No, that isn't possible. You don't exist yet in this time," Frasier argued. "You can only suffer those effects if you are already in existence in this time. Major Carter would have to already have had you, or at the very least be pregnant."

Jack licked his lips and glanced at Carter, who sat beside him. Janet glanced over at her best friend, cursing herself for saying that in front of everyone. She still didn't know what had happened to make Sam be calling from Jack's house so early the previous morning.

Sam realized that everyone was looking at her. She stood up suddenly and walked out of the briefing room.

Hammond looked at O'Neill with a perplexed face. "Colonel?"

"I don't know, Sir," Jack said helplessly.

"I want to see you and Major Carter in my office in twenty minutes. Is that clear, Colonel?"

Jack grimaced. "Yes, Sir."

Jack stood up and walked out of the briefing room, glancing at Janet and jerking his head toward the door as he went. She whispered something to Daniel and then followed after Jack. She found him waiting in the hall.

"What can I do for you, Colonel?"

"Doc, I'm no good at this. What do I say here?"

Janet leaned back against the wall, her hands resting in the pockets of her long white coat. "Well, Colonel, I guess it depends what you think is going on. Do you think Jolinar is your daughter?"

Jack sighed and scratched his head. He gave her a quick and uncomfortable nod.

"Well, Colonel, if you believe her… I mean she can't experience temporal seizures if… Could Sam be pregnant?" Janet wasn't sure she should ask, but Jack did want her help.

"It's my fault, Janet," Jack sighed.

"You're both adults, Jack."

Jack shook his head. "They'll court martial us. It'll kill her, and it's my fault. I invited her over."

Janet took his left hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You love her, Jack. Just go talk to her. That's what she needs. That's what you have to do. Worry about the rest later. If they court martial you I'm sure Thor would love to have you."

Jack gave her a slight grin and headed off for Carter's lab. Janet sighed and walked back into the briefing room. She saw Daniel resting his head on the table and Hammond glanced at her.

"Did you give him a check up, Doctor?" Hammond asked.

"Several, Sir," she said. She walked over and knelt by Daniel. "Daniel, what's wrong?"

He sat up and looked at her. "Nothing. just tired. Can I go home, General? I'd like to rest away from here for a little while."

"That will be fine, Dr. Jackson, if Dr. Frasier agrees, but I don't think you should drive," Hammond said.

"I'll take him, Sir. My shift will be over soon," Frasier offered, hoping Hammond didn't think it was anything other than genuine doctor concern.

"Very well. Teal'c, I want you to contact the Tok'ra. See if you can learn anything from them about the Solari. I don't want us to end up in another situation like we did with the Aschen."

Teal'c gave a slight nod. "Of course, General Hammond."

"You can trust them, General. I assure you," Jolinar said.

Hammond gave her an understanding smile. "I appreciate your help, but we can't take any chances."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Jack rapped his knuckles on the door to Carter's lab as he pushed it open. The lights in the room were out, but he knew this was where to find her. He slipped inside and closed the door behind him.

"Sam?" Jack said softly.

He reached over and flipped one of the light switches, causing a few of the lights in the room to flicker on, just enough to give the room a warm glow. She was sitting behind her desk. She looked at him and gave him a melancholy smile. He walked over and knelt down in front of her. Her hands were clasped together on her lap, and he laid his own hands over hers.

"Jack, if she's telling the truth…" Sam whispered, she couldn't finish.

"She is, Sam. You know that. That's why you're so upset."

"I can't be responsible for that, Jack."

He gave her a quizzical look. "For what, Sam?"

"Getting you court-martialed. Getting you kicked out of the SGC. This is your life," she said, avoiding his eyes.

"Sam, are you…"

"I don't know, Jack," she interrupted. "It was just a couple days ago. But if she's telling the truth then I have to be. They've been looking for something to get rid of us Jack. We've handed it to them."

Jack leaned up and cupped her face in his hands, staring into her eyes. "Forget them, Sam. This is you and me right now, and I don't regret anything. They can go to hell. We've saved the world half a dozen times. We deserve…," he broke off and looked away. Maybe this wasn't what she wanted. He grimaced painfully at that thought.

She pressed her forehead to his. "What, Jack?"

He let out a deep breath. "Our moment, Sam. Our moment where no one, no one, can tell us what we should or shouldn't do."

She put on her hands on his chest and pushed him back so she could take in his entire face, the face she knew so well, brimming with something for her. "Please, Jack, just tell me."

"I love you, Sam."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Janet and Daniel were headed to the elevator when they ran into Jack and Sam on their way to Hammond's office.Janet's hand rested supportively on the small of his back. Jack and Sam both frowned when they saw Daniel. He looked visibly upset, and Janet was obviously concerned.

"Daniel," Jack said, giving Daniel a once over, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Jack," he replied unconvincingly. "Just tired. Jan is taking me home to rest."

"Doc?" Jack looked at Janet.

Janet gave a tired sigh and shook her head helplessly. "I can't find anything wrong with him, Colonel. It could be stress. He did nearly die after all. I'll take him home and see if he can't relax," she replied as she glanced tenderly at Daniel. "Are you two ok?"

Carter smiled. "Yeah, we're fine, Janet. Maybe not after Hammond gets through with us though."

A vision of Jack and Sam standing in Hammond's office appeared clearly in Daniel's mind. They were discussing Jolinar and suddenly the images began to move rapidly and the vision was shunted to the gate room where he could see the chevrons locking. The vision moved too fast for him to see all the coordinates on the gate. Then the wormhole opened and a cloaked figure appeared through the iris. All these images flashed through his mind in a matter of seconds, and Daniel fell against the wall holding his head in his hands.

"Stop it! Make it stop!" he shouted hoarsely.

"Danny!" Jack grabbed Daniel.

"Let's get him to the infirmary!" Janet ordered as Jack lifted the now unconscious Daniel over his shoulder.

"Sam, go get Jolinar," Jack ordered as he headed down the hall.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Janet and Jack were standing beside Daniel's bed when Sam, Hammond, and Jolinar came rushing in. Janet rested her hand on the top of his head, gently stroking his hair.

"Here she is, Sir," Sam said as they walked to the bed.

Daniel was still unconscious.

"What's going on, Doctor?" Hammond asked.

"There is nothing wrong with him. I'll have to do another MRI," Janet said helplessly.

"Let me see, Janet," Jolinar said gently. She moved to Janet's side and pressed her fingertips to Daniel's forehead. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. "It's the nanites."

Jack groaned and rubbed his forehead. "I knew those things were nothing but trouble."

"No, it's my fault. I didn't think to reprogram them before I injected them into Daniel. They're doing things to him they were only meant to do to me."

"Such as?" Carter pressed her.

Jolinar sighed. "In an attempt to aid me in my mission the Solari used experimental nanites in me. The Solari brain functions differently than ours in how they perceive and interact with time because of how they evolved in their own dimension. In this dimension they are able to see into the past and future. The nanites they gave me basically reconfigured my brain to allow me the same ability, but I can't control it like the Solari. I only have glimpses, and I can only handle that because my mind was trained. The nanites are reconfiguring Daniel, but his mind isn't trained to process it."

"Will it kill him?" Jack asked.

"No, of course not," Jolinar replied. "But it could break his mind if he can't learn to handle it."

"Can't you just make the nanites reverse the change?" Janet asked, stroking Daniel's cheek with her fingertips and clasping his hand.

"I don't know. They're experimental. I don't know if the Solari gave them that function, but I will try."

"Maybe we should contact the Solari," Hammond suggested.

Jolinar shook her head. "No. This technology is one hundred years away for them. I can do it. I'm the only one who can do it." She closed her eyes and focused her mind on Daniel. She hadn't expected the nanites to move this rapidly.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Daniel blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to force them into focus. The last thing he remembered was walking toward the elevators with Jan. As his eyes cleared he saw that he was… where the hell was he? He stood on a narrow cobblestone path that ran very nearly parallel to a small gurgling stream at his left. Ahead of him the stream disappeared behind a copse of large oak trees and glancing behind him he saw it spill down several short waterfalls into a large clear blue pond. Overhead dark grey clouds blocked out the sun and created a refreshing shade. Well, wherever he was it was nice.

"Hello, Daniel," Jolinar said as she came walking up behind him.

He jumped and turned to glare at her. "Where are we?"

She smiled. "Physically? Or metaphysically? Or did you mean mentally?"

Daniel merely shook his head and groaned. "I nearly died, Jolinar. I'm not ready for another meaning of life chat. How about you just tell me all three?"

She gestured affably towards the bank of the stream. "Well, technically we are still in the infirmary," she said as she walked over and sat down on the bank. She picked up a handful of small rocks and started tossing them in the water.

Daniel went and sat next to her. "Please, continue." He grabbed his own handful of rocks, and began deftly skipping them across the surface of the water.

Jolinar intently watched the rocks bounce across the rippling water and huffed. "I never could do that."

Daniel smiled and continued tossing rocks. "Takes practice. So, come on, where are we?"

"We're halfway between your consciousness and mine, the middle of a telepathic bridge between our two minds," she said without looking at him. "We're safe here."

Daniel tossed his rocks aside and leaned back on his elbows. He could feel the cool breeze on his face, he could smell the grass, and he could hear the water flowing over the rocks. "Safe from what?"

She stopped throwing stones and looked over at him and smiled. "Each other. Here we can speak to each other, but our thoughts are our own. There is a deeper telepathic bond which is possible where the bridge is not there, but rather the minds are one. It is an intimate experience where you see and feel each other's thoughts and emotions. Do not be offended that I do not wish such a communion with you."

Daniel nodded. "I can't say that I'd want you wandering around inside my mind so I can understand that. I'm not sure I'd want that with anyone. Well, maybe one person."

Jolinar smiled perceptively. "There are many who feel that way. Telepathy is commonly used on Vani, but there are only a few of us who push it to its limits."

"So, what you walk around reading people's thoughts?" Daniel asked, some loathing seeping into his voice.

"No, we can't do that. You can only form a deep bond with a mind that is receptive."

Daniel nodded vaguely. "You know this is really interesting, but what does it have to do with why we're here?"

"I'm trying to teach you, Daniel. These are things you need to understand. We're here because we need each other's help."

"This is eerily familiar."

She gave him a confused glance.

"Oma Desala," he said with a knowing look. "When I was dying she came to me something like this. Though your place here is nicer."

Jolinar gave him a large grin. "Yes, this is Vani, or at least a metaphysical representation."

Daniel sat up and looked around curiously. "This is Vani? I thought it was an oceanic world."

She nodded and Daniel watched in awe as the sky vanished like a mist to reveal a large glass dome and the dark endless ocean just beyond.

"There are nine cities on Vani, all underwater, beneath domes like this. The inner surface of the dome can holographically simulate the sky. It keeps us from looking out at dark water all the time. Though I prefer the water myself. I don't feel comfortable under a wide open sky. This is one of the arboretums in my home city, Vanice."

Daniel bit his bottom lip and looked to be mulling something over. After a moment he looked at Jolinar, his face serious. "I'm sorry. Did you say 'metaphysical representation'?"

"Yes, I meant of course that we're not really on Vani…"

"No," he interrupted holding up his hand, signaling her to stop. "I know what you meant. It just hit me that you said 'metaphysical representation,' and you used the words correctly. You did say you were Jack O'Neill's daughter right?"

Jolinar rolled her eyes and tried to hide a genuine smile. "I do take after my mother in some things, Daniel."

"Just checking. So, what do we need to help each other with?"

Jolinar's face grew solemn. "Your visions, Daniel. Your mind is trying to defend itself against them, and is just shutting down. You can't ignore them. I will teach you to control them."

"It's your nanites. Can't you just make them undo what they're doing?"

"Possibly, but I need you to have the visions, Daniel. I need you to focus your strength on this," she pleaded. Her green eyes cut through him with their expressive sadness.

He turned his face away from her. "Why? I don't want to know the future, Jolinar. I like being surprised."

She sighed. "I don't know where Amun-Re is. I can't destroy him if I can't find him. I've had visions of him, and the answer is in them. It has to be. I need you to help me find him."

"Why me?" he asked with a slight accusatory tone.

"Well, you are the archaeologist. It's your job to find the clues and solve the riddles, and I knew that you could learn to handle the visions and eventually control them."

Daniel scowled. "How?"

"Because, you're the one who taught me how to control mine," she said softly. "You've always been like a second father to me. I couldn't have learned to master this without your guidance."

Daniel shook his head. "No, if I can't control them it will destroy my mind. You know that. I see it already."

She reached over and clasped his hand. "I won't let you fail, Daniel." Her voice was shaking. "I wouldn't have done this if I had any doubt. I can't lose you. If I lose you…," she took a deep breath, "I'll lose Ian."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Ian?" An image of a baby boy flashed across Daniel's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. "My son?" He whispered, more to himself than to her.

Jolinar nodded. "You have to fight, Daniel. You have so much left to do, but I need your help first."

Daniel closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of the grass against his palms. It was cool and mesmerizing. "How much time do we have?"

"Hopefully, enough."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Daniel didn't know how many hours they had been walking and talking. Jolinar had restored the false sky, and he had been amazed to watch the sun appear to be setting in the distance and then the stars appeared along with twin silvery moons.

"Those moons and stars are accurate," Jolinar said after they'd sat for some time in silence at the crest of a large hill overlooking much of the arboretum, allowing Daniel to mull over what she'd been teaching him.

Daniel broke from his reverie at her unexpected intrusion. "Accurate?"

She nodded. "If you stood on the surface of the planet above us that is what you'd see. The surface of Vani is beautiful. Mountains of ice glow in the moonlight and during the last two months of the year you can see the Neva Nebula. It's like a great red spiderweb suspended from the sky and its casts most of the planet in a red tint it's so bright." She closed her eyes and smiled fondly at the memories of her home.

Daniel rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, trying to picture it. "It sounds beautiful."

She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. She stared up at the twin moons. "The first time my Dad took me up there to see it I was only six. You and Janet were with us, and you told me an ancient spider, Neva, that had long guarded over Vani had made the web long ago. You said she died protecting Vani and that's why the web vanished after two months, because it was just an apparition, a memory. You said the spider's ghost would come back once a year to rebuild the web, so that we would not forget she still watched over our planet. I always liked that story, of course your version was much longer. Dad didn't like it as much. He said big bugs couldn't be trusted." She laughed.

"Do you really think all this is going to work? All this time traveling stuff?"

She leaned back against a rock and regarded him pensively. "I hope so, Daniel. If it doesn't… I gave it all up for nothing."

He nodded and glanced at the forest that rolled away before them, where now a fine grey mist crept around the trunks of the trees like a tired old serpent. "Ian?" Daniel said, gently but firmly.

She looked at him. "Yes. I… left him behind. He gave his life so I could make it to the gate." She chewed her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. "Or if they captured him…," she didn't finish, the thought had never occurred to her. She had assumed he'd died, but the Ardai would want him alive, just as they'd wanted her alive.

Daniel shook his head reassuringly. "No, Jolinar, even if he is captured… once we change things it won't matter."

She muttered what Daniel assumed was a curse as she stood up, though it wasn't a language he knew. "I can't believe I left him. We should've come together."

Daniel reached up and grabbed her by the arm. "No, Jolinar, he'll be fine."

She entwined her fingers in her short hair and pulled away from him. "No, he won't, Daniel. If he was taken by the Ardai… they would have taken him back to their own dimension. They have no presence in this universe. They operate completely from their own dimension, only coming to this one to carry out their covert missions."

Daniel grimaced, his face a mask of confusion. "What does that matter?"

Jolinar groaned angrily. "Damn it, Daniel," she snapped and turned her back on him. "Even if we change the future… my Ian will continue to exist in the Ardai's dimension. Changes in the timeline in this universe will have no effect on other dimensions."

Daniel scratched his chin. "Are you saying the barriers between dimensions will act as a buffer and protect him from changes in the timeline?"

She crossed her arms across her chest and breathed deeply. "This new timeline we are making will continue on, and your son, Ian, will be born, and if all goes well, he'll fall in love Jolinar again. But that still leaves my Ian trapped in the prisons of the Ardai… forever, and me facing certain death from temporal seizures."

Daniel wasn't sure he liked where this was headed. He certainly had no desire for Jolinar to die, nor for his future son to languish in prison, but they were already in over their heads. Jolinar knew that.

A vision of the Stargate flashed into Daniel's mind and a numbing chill crept through his body. He shivered and sat up straight, looking around searchingly. He saw Jolinar tremble at the same moment, and she turned her knowing eyes on him.

Her face grew solemn, and her eyes turned dark with trepidation. "They're coming, Daniel. Anubis and the Trien are coming for me."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

They all stood around Daniel's bed in silence. It had been several minutes since Jolinar had started whatever she was doing, and they could see no perceptible change.

Janet still stood right by his Jolinar, holding Daniel's hand, and watching his face intently.

"Jolinar?" Jack asked hesitantly.

Jolinar's eyes were still closed, and her fingertips pressed to Daniel's forehead. She made no sign that she had even heard him. Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders helplessly at Janet.

An airman came into the infirmary, approached Hammond, and saluted.

"Yes?" Hammond asked.

"Sir, I was sent to inform you that the President is on the phone and needs to speak with you."

Hammond nodded and dismissed the soldier. He turned to Jack. "Keep an eye on things here, Colonel. I'm going to see what news the President has. Then, irrespective of Dr. Jackson's continued mishaps, you, Major Carter, and I still need to have our meeting."

Jack's body stiffened and Carter bit her lower lip. Yes, they still had that to deal with. As the General continued looking at them they both realized they had been silent too long, and she gently nudged Jack's arm.

"Yes, Sir," Jack said almost inaudibly, without looking at Hammond.

After Hammond had gone Janet gave them a reassuring smile. "Surely saving the world will count for something."

Jack rubbed his jaw and gave a curt nod. "Well, Doc, you'd think so."

Sam reached over and gave Jack's forearm a compassionate squeeze. "Unfortunately rules are rules," she said matter-of-factly.

Janet appeared thoughtful and glanced uncertainly at Jack then Sam. She struggled with a way to help her friends. "This is a recent development isn't it? Like two days ago?"

Sam blushed and nodded. "I mean I don't even know for sure… just based on what Jolinar has said."

Janet squeezed Daniel's unresponsive hand tighter, this was not what she wanted to suggest but options were limited. "Well, a test shouldn't pick it up for at least several more days."

Sam raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"If one of you were to resign… you could say that it happened afterwards," Janet said slowly, trying to gauge their reaction.

Jack stood quietly as she spoke, his arms crossed, his face stoic. He finally gave Janet an uneasy smile. "That would require you to lie about what we've already told you, Doc."

Janet grinned and glanced down at Daniel. "Oh, don't worry about that, Colonel. I don't remember a thing."

"Well, I guess I better go type up my letter," Jack stated simply, as if he were just going to make coffee and not end his career.

Sam's gaze snapped onto Jack. "Well, actually… I thought I'd…"

Jack shook his head. "No way, Sam."

Sam rested her hands on her hips and regarded Jack with an angry glare. She couldn't believe his bravado, even though she had expected it. Why did he assume it had to be him? "Just because you're the guy doesn't mean…"

Jack interrupted her by reaching up his hand to cup her cheek and pleading with his brown eyes.

"Jack…," she whispered.

"Don't worry about it, Sam. You're the smart one. They need you a lot more than they need me. You know me. I'm just a grumpy old soldier with a bad knee," Jack said with a chuckle.

Carter frowned and opened her mouth to speak but knew nothing would change his mind. She stood there helplessly, wringing her hands.

A thought suddenly struck Janet, and it made her smile. "Are you ready for that, Jack? You think you can handle it?"

He regarded her and her mischievous smile with confusion. "What's that, Doc?"

"Well, if you resign and Sam stays on, it seems to me that would make you the stay at home dad," Janet said, glad to see the delightful smile that spread across Jack's face. "Can you go from chasing Jaffa and taking down system lords to reading nursery rhymes?"

Jack realized that part had never occurred to him. He was going to be a dad again. He looked at Carter and could see it was just sinking in for her as well. They'd been so worried about what would happen that they hadn't taken time to enjoy the good side of it. He felt Carter's hand wrap around his, and she smiled without any hints of sadness or anger.

"I think I could handle that," Jack said with satisfaction.

They heard a nearby phone ring and a nurse informed Jack that he and Sam were wanted in General Hammond's office.

"Take care of my pal, Doc," Jack said, jerking his head toward the unconscious Daniel.

Janet blushed. "Good luck, Colonel."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Hammond was still on his red phone when Jack and Sam appeared at his door. He motioned for them to come in. Jack laid his hand on the small of Sam's back, feeling her muscles tense and quickly relax at his touch, and guided her into the room, closing the door behind him. They took their seats in front of Hammond's desk.

"Colonel O'Neill is here now, Mr. President," Hammond said. He listened for a moment. "Yes, Sir, Major Carter also." He listened again. "I'll tell them, Mr. President. Thank you, Sir." Hammond hung up the phone.

Hammond opened a folder on his desk and sat silently reading a paper from it as Sam and Jack suffered. After a few minutes he glanced up at them. "Colonel, is it your opinion that Jolinar is telling the truth?" He asked, turning his eyes on Jack.

"Yes, General."

Hammond shook his head in exasperation and turned to Carter. "Major Carter, will you need to be taken off active duty?" His voice wasn't angry or accusatory. It was simply an honest question.

Sam let out a deep breath and nervously rubbed her palms together. "I, I don't know yet, Sir. It seems… likely, in a couple of months anyway."

"I take full responsibility, General. I was hoping you would allow me to enter my resignation, Sir," Jack said.

Hammond's forehead wrinkled as he considered it. "Isn't it a little late for that, Jack?"

Jack leaned forward in his chair, resting his hands on his knees. "Well, General, this is a very recent development."

"We are guilty, General. We don't deny that. Our…," she stopped a moment and smiled openly at Jack, "our baby should be born in nine months."

Hammond stared at them with confusion on his face. "Did you say nine months?"

Carter nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Hammond appeared thoughtful. He closed the folder and ran his fingers over it as he tried to figure out how long he should torture his two best officers and how he could save them. "So, this is a very recent development?"

"Very, Sir. I would be lying if I said Jolinar didn't have a little to do with it," Jack said, "but there is the beauty of it, General. If you allow me to resign… we could say this happened afterwards, and hopefully, that way you could hang onto Carter, and we could avoid some messy court martial."

Carter looked over at Jack, and they locked eyes. "Personally, General, I was hoping you'd let me be the one to resign," she said. She gave Jack a sad smile. She wasn't letting him go down alone. He was going to have to learn it didn't work like that anymore. He couldn't order her to stand down on this.

Jack looked at her questioningly and stretched his arm across the space between them and clasped her hand firmly in his. She was willful but that was part of what he loved about her. "I advise against that, General. You need Carter a hell of a lot more than me," Jack argued.

"Colonel O'Neill, I am of the opinion that I still need both of you," Hammond replied.

Carter sighed. "I wish it were possible, Sir, but Jack and I can't hide this or our new relationship now. Even if they didn't court martial us, there's no way we could stay on the same team."

Hammond nodded. He clasped his hands together on his desk and leaned forward, staring hard at Jack. "Colonel O'Neill, effective immediately you are relieved of your command of SG-1."

Jack stiffened in his chair, and he felt Carter's hand tighten around his. "Yes, Sir," Jack said faintly.

"Major Carter, you have been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and will assume immediate command of SG-1. Jack…"

Carter pushed up out of her chair, her face red, and interrupted him, "That's not right, Sir. If Jack is being punished then so should I. I shouldn't be promoted just because he's willing to take the hit."

Hammond gave her an understanding look and motioned for her to sit down. "Please, allow me to finish, Majo… Colonel. I explained your and Colonel O'Neill's situation to the President, but he believes, given your track record, a little leeway is called for here. He asked to me to see what I could come up with. Both the President and I are going out on a real line for you on this."

Carter's cheeks flushed. "Yes, Sir," she said and sat back down.

Jack sat silent and stoic, focusing on Carter's hand clinging tightly to his.

"Jack?" Hammond said, breaking into Jack's thoughts.

"Yes, Sir?"

"You will return to the Solari base and tell them we accept the terms of the treaty. You will begin work immediately with the Solari on development of the off-world base," Hammond said.

It took Jack a moment to realize what Hammond was saying. When it broke through is mind he looked directly at Hammond and then to Sam. "Sir?"

"The President gave the go ahead. Now that the two of you are in separate chains of command, hopefully, we can avoid a court martial. Like you said, it's just a few days and no one will know the difference if we keep this quiet. That was almost a hell of bind you two put me in."

Carter looked at Jack and smiled. "Sorry about that, Sir."

Jack raised his hand. "Me too, General."

Hammond nodded and smiled warmly. "Well, it's not like I didn't see it coming between you two. However, Colonel, I must tell you that the Pentagon insists a command of this magnitude has no place in the hands of a colonel."

Sam frowned. "But you just said…"

"So, what I spend months setting up this base so they can hand it to some other guy?" Jack scoffed. "Think I'll just go ahead with my resignation, Sir."

"Yes, the Pentagon pressed the President to negotiate with the Solari over the point of you or I taking command. I told the President the Solari position was non-negotiable."

"So, where does that leave us?" Sam asked.

Hammond shook his head, as if he almost didn't believe what he was saying. "The President wanted you to know that Thor and Sol Baelon contacted him directly just a short time ago."

Jack slapped his hand against his knee. "I love that guy."

Hammond smiled faintly. "Thor knew our government would be hesitant to enter a treaty that wasn't negotiated through the official channels and convinced Sol Baelon it was necessary. They explained to the President that we had their full confidence, and that the treaty could not go forward except as written," Hammond said.

Sam smiled. "That's handy."

"Well, I expressed what I felt to be a serious need for this off-world base, and despite the terms of the treaty the Pentagon is certain that the Solari's technology can't be kept off-world forever."

Jack huffed. "Of course they are."

Hammond ignored the interruption. "So, the Pentagon is willing to play ball on this because believe they can gain advanced technology out of the deal eventually. At the very least the Pentagon believes it can stop funneling money to the alpha site."

Jack ran his hand through his hair as he cleared his throat. "So, does that mean I'm in command, Sir?"

The alarms began to blare and a voice announced, "Unscheduled off world activation."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

By the time the three of them reached the control room Teal'c and Jacob were already walking down the ramp. They went down to the gate room to meet them. Jack was still waiting on an answer to his question from General Hammond and wasn't sure what Jacob Carter would think about the new situation between him and Sam.

"Always good to see you, Jacob. Glad to see you're alright," Hammond said, giving Jacob a firm handshake.

"Glad to be home, George."

Sam pulled her father into a tight hug.

"Hey, Sam," he said, returning her embrace.

"We weren't sure how the Tok'ra were doing since Anubis's attack," Hammond said.

Jacob nodded his head gravely. "It's been rough, but we're surviving. Teal'c tells me you guys have made some new friends."

Hammond nodded. "Let's head to the briefing room." He turned to Jack. "Jack, would you go check on Dr. Jackson and see if our guest is free to join us in the briefing room?"

"Yes, Sir," Jack said and stood there a moment, hoping Hammond would end his suffering. Jack clenched and unclenched his fists nervously and wanted to scream, "What are you going to do to me?"

Hammond frowned at Jack. "Did you need something, Colonel?"

Jack shook his head and let out a deep sigh. "No, Sir," he said and stalked off to the infirmary.

Jacob frowned. "Is Danny ok? Anything Selmak can help with?"

Sam sighed and shook her head. "No, not this time, Dad. You'll hear it all in the briefing room."

Hammond led Jacob, Sam, and Teal'c toward the briefing room. "You're just in time, Jacob, to congratulate your daughter."

"Indeed," Teal'c said with an affirmative inclination of his head.

Sam blushed and wondered which news Hammond was referring to.

Jacob smiled curiously and wrapped an arm around his daughter's shoulders. "Is that right? What's the news, Sam?"

Sam smiled awkwardly. "Well, I was just promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and head of SG-1."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. That certainly wasn't the news he'd been expecting. "Congratulations, Colonel Carter. What has become of Colonel O'Neill then?"

"Oh, don't worry, Teal'c. I have plans for him," Hammond replied with a mysterious grin. He knew exactly how much torture he was putting O'Neill through, and he damn well deserved it.

Jacob stopped walking and pulled his daughter into a hug. "Sam, that's great. I'm so proud of you," he whispered into her ear.

Sam smiled. "Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Teal'c. The Colonel does have something a little new in line for him."

"That's such a nice surprise," Jacob said as he let go of her.

"It is certainly not the last," Teal'c said simply.

Carter and Hammond both glanced at Teal'c, mouths hanging open. Teal'c regarded them with the slightest hint of a smile. Jacob looked at Sam questioningly, but she only shrugged her shoulders and headed on to the briefing room.

"Yes, well, let's head into the briefing room," Hammond said.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Janet continued watching Jolinar in silence. Jack and Sam hadn't been gone terribly long, and she'd just heard the gate activation announcement, which she knew would cut their torture short for the moment. That is, if they were being tortured. She knew Hammond would do what he could.

Jolinar opened her eyes and removed her hand from Daniel's forehead. She smiled at Daniel as he opened his eyes. He glanced around till he saw Janet's concerned face and smiled at her.

"Daniel?" she said tentatively.

"You know I really need to stop ending up like this," he said. He squeezed her hand. "It's ok, Jan."

Janet smiled and squeezed his hand back. "How do you feel?"

Daniel considered the question. He sat up slowly and looked down at his hands as he curled and uncurled his fingers. They felt real, but so did they at the other place. "I feel fine, Janet."

Janet glanced at Jolinar suspiciously. "You were able to reverse the change that rapidly?"

"I didn't reverse it. I merely helped him learn to control it," she replied.

"Rapidly?" Daniel interjected. His eyes narrowed.

Janet nodded. "You've only been unconscious for about thirty minutes, Daniel."

"No, that's…," he looked to Jolinar, his question clear on his face. They had spent so much time there.

"Time does not exist within the mind, Daniel," Jolinar explained. "But in any case, you will be fine to go home now. You need to rest and think on what we talked about. Any time for rest will soon be gone."

Janet studied Jolinar's astutely. She knew Jolinar was hiding something. She was not happy being kept in the dark about any of her patients, but still, Jolinar had saved his life and that was not lost on her. Without Jolinar, Daniel would be gone now. Their chance for them to see if they wanted to be together would have been stolen away from them.

"I need to talk to Jack and General Hammond," Daniel said suddenly as he jumped off the bed.

Janet sighed uneasily and grabbed Daniel by the arm. "Sam and Jack just went to Hammond's office a few minutes ago, but there was just an unscheduled gate activation. I'm not sure what General Hammond is going to do to them. "

He turned to Janet. "He can't court martial them. We need them."

Jolinar crossed her arms, arched an eyebrow, and gave Daniel a rueful glare. "You do not give General Hammond enough credit, Daniel," she chided. "But never mind, you will see." She walked out of the infirmary leaving a confused Daniel and a livid Janet behind.

Daniel reached up and rubbed each temple. This was all too much in too little time. A new alien race, a new alliance, a near-death experience, his hours with Jolinar… he just wanted to rest. He felt Janet's arms slide around his waist from behind and then her head resting against his back.

"It's alright, Daniel," she whispered, gently moving her hands in slow circles on his stomach, feeling his toned muscles relaxing beneath her fingers. "Sam and Jack can handle themselves."

Daniel smiled to himself and pressed his body warmly back against her.

"Alright now, go find a room," Jack called out, loud enough for most of the nurses nearby to hear, as he walked into the infirmary with Jolinar at his side.

Daniel laughed and gave Jack a mocking grin. "Some of us can show our feelings without fear of court martial, Jack."

Janet slapped Daniel lightly on the shoulder. "Daniel!"

"Oh, come on, would he be harassing me if he were being court martialed?"

Jack stared at Daniel, his face serious.

"Ok, bad example," Daniel conceded.

"Well, you're obviously doing better," Jack said with a impish grin. "Come on, Daniel. We've got a briefing."

"Is Sam ok?" Janet asked, worry on her face.

Jack gave her a warm smile. "She's fine, Doc. Jacob just showed up with Teal'c, so we gotta go visit."

Daniel chuckled and crossed his arms. "Yeah, I can understand how you might want to avoid Jacob for a while."

"Nah, Jacob loves me," Jack said, pointing to himself.

Daniel suddenly became serious. "We need to talk, Jack. We might have a problem."

Jack covered his mouth and yawned. "Yeah, I know, Daniel. Jolinar already had a chat with me, that telepathy of hers is driving me nuts. Nothing to do at the moment though. So, let's go to this briefing. Then you are going to go rest, relax, sleep. You know those things you avoid doing in your lab. Yeah, I'm ordering you to go do those things. That is if I can still give orders around here." He shrugged his shoulders resignedly.

Daniel regarded Jack curiously. "Ok… if you say so, Jack."


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Everyone in the briefing room became suddenly silent when Jack, Daniel, and Jolinar walked in. Jack waved and gave an unsure smile. Carter was smiling at him, warmly.

Jacob stood up from the table and offered his hand to Jack. "Congratulations, Jack," he said with a grin.

Jack smiled and took Jacob's hand. "Thanks. You're not angry, Jacob? Not gonna shoot me with a Zat are you?"

Sam frowned and tried to signal Jack without Jacob noticing, but Jack wasn't looking her way now.

Jacob shook his head and laughed. "Why would I shoot you? It's not that bad."

Jack nodded. Well, this was better than expected. "I must admit you're taking this well."

Jacob gave Jack and odd glance.

Hammond saw Carter's feeble attempt to stop Jack from getting himself shot and decided to step in.

"Uh, Jack," Hammond said. Jack turned to him. "I was just telling Jacob about your appointment to oversee the new off-world base."

Jack's mouth formed into a big "o." "I see, Sir. Yes, that's good news."

"What else would we be talking about, Jack?" Jacob asked.

"Nothing, Jacob. Nothing at all," Jack replied, patting Jacob on the back.

"Well, congratulations in any case," Jacob said. "You'll make a fine general."

Jack raised an eyebrow and glanced at Hammond. "General, General?"

Hammond gave a slight laugh and nodded. "Brigadier General Jonathan O'Neill. I told you they wouldn't let a colonel command an off world base."

Jack smiled as he slid into a chair. "Well, that's… cool… Sir."

"Congratulations, O'Neill," Teal'c said with a nod.

"God help you all," Jacob said as he returned to his seat.

Daniel and Jolinar joined them at the table.

"All that worrying for nothing, Jack," Daniel teased.

"I told you to trust General Hammond, Daniel," Jolinar smirked.

Jacob frowned. "I'm sorry. Who are you?"

She looked at Jacob and smiled. He was the only grandparent she'd ever known, and it was good to see him.

"She's…," Hammond began but was quickly cut off.

"Jolinar," Jolinar said confidently.

Hammond sighed. "Yes, Jolinar."

Jacob's face grew dark, and his head bowed for a moment. "Who are you that dares claim to be Jolinar?" Selmak snarled angrily.

"Wait, Selmak, just listen," Carter pleaded. "She's not claiming to be that Jolinar." She looked down at the table and then back at Jacob. "Please, let me talk to my Dad for a minute."

Selmak narrowed his eyes at Jolinar and then acquiesced to Sam.

"What's going on, Sam?" Jacob asked suspiciously. "Who is she?"

Sam's hands were shaking, and she looked helplessly at Jacob.

"Jacob," Jack began hesitantly, "she isn't saying she's a Tok'ra. She just happens to be named after one."

Jacob glanced at Jack. "Who would name their child after Jolinar?"

Jack smiled wryly and raised his hand. "Me apparently."

Jacob shook is head in frustration. "Jack, you're losing me."

Jolinar stood up and walked over to Sam's chair wordlessly. She knelt down beside Sam and put a comforting hand on her back. Sam turned her eyes to

Jolinar who smiled at her reassuringly.

"You don't need to be afraid," Jolinar whispered. "Not of me. Not of anyone here."

Sam reached a tentative finger out to Jolinar's cheek and smiled. "You have my mom's eyes," she whispered.

Jack watched them, smiling to himself. He was a little put out that the celebration of his promotion had been cut somewhat short, but this was much better.

Jolinar nodded and grinned. "I know. You've told me before."

"Sam?" Jacob pressed, a little impatiently.

Sam turned to Jacob, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Everyone else watched her, wondering if they should be here.

"She's from the future, Dad. She's Jack's daughter and mine," Sam said softly, her eyes searching her father's face for a clue as to what this was making him feel.

Jacob looked at Jack then back to Sam. "And you believe her?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, Dad."

Jacob sighed and clasped his hands on the table in front of him. "Okay, I'll take your word then. Is this the new friend you wanted me to meet? My granddaughter? That's not something you should just spring on me. When were you planning on mentioning this to me, Jack?"

Jack tapped his fingers on the table and glanced at the ceiling as he pondered the question. "Well… soon, Jacob, soon. You've got my word on that."

Jacob snorted. "I see. We'll discuss this later, Jack."

Jack grinned roguishly. "You betcha."

Jacob looked back to Jolinar. She turned her green eyes on him, and he caught his breath. He knew those eyes. He saw them every night after he closed his own.

Jack cleared his throat. "We don't actually have much time, Jacob. Jolinar introduced us to a race known as the Solari. Ever heard of them?"

Jacob closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. He opened his eyes and looked to Jack. "No, sorry, Jack. Selmak hasn't a clue."

"Well, the Solari are friends of the Asgard yes, but they were never in this galaxy so the Tok'ra would never have had any contact," Jolinar explained.

"So, I guess we're going on faith," Daniel said.

Jack shook his head. "You go on faith if you want, Daniel. I'll stick to Thor's word."

"So, all we have to worry about now is Anubis," Daniel replied.

Jolinar's face hardened. "Well, Anubis is only the beginning but for the moment he is our primary concern, yes."

"What about Anubis?" Hammond questioned.

"He's coming," Jolinar said coldly. "Because of me. I need to leave. He knows I'm here."

"Why would Anubis be looking for you?" Jacob asked.

"Because Amun-Re has commanded him. Anubis is quite powerful now, that much is certain, but I am not sure that even he is above Amun-Re," Jolinar said. "Even if Amun-Re cannot control Anubis, it doesn't change the fact that he is coming."

"But how could Amun-Re send Anubis? You said he's still in stasis," Carter said.

"I don't know. I had a vision of Anubis and though I could not see Amun-Re… I heard his voice and Anubis addressed him. I can't explain it, because I have had visions of him still in stasis," she said helplessly.

"If you say you did not see Amun-Re then you cannot positively identify him. Perhaps some Goa'Uld is masquerading as Amun-Re in an attempt to gain power, if this Amun-Re is believed to be as powerful as you say," Teal'c said thoughtfully.

Selmak took over Jacob. "I agree with Tealc'. It must be an impostor, because Amun-Re's name has not been spoken in thousands of years. He must be a myth or dead, or he would have already returned."

"He is real! You have no idea what he has taken from me!" Jolinar snapped furiously, slamming her fists on the table, causing the wood to split with a loud crack that surprised them all. Her body shook with her anger and even Selmak and Teal'c were taken aback.

Jack stood up and walked around the table to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and drew her away from the table. "Calm down, Jolie," Jack said soothingly. "No one's calling you a liar." He glanced at the table were she had left two large indentations.

"No, of course I'm not," Selmak offered. "I am just telling you what I know."

Jolinar drew back from Jack and turned her back on him. She couldn't let him see her afraid. "There is something about Amun-Re. He is not like other Goa'Uld. We don't know what it is, but the Goa'Uld are unable to oppose his rule. Only Amun-Re could hope to command the might of Anubis, no impostor could."

Daniel scratched his head. "What is it like a divine right of kings thing?"

"What are you jabbering about, Daniel?" Jack huffed. He was glad to see Daniel was back to normal.

Daniel sat up in his chair and reached to adjust his glasses, only to realize he wasn't wearing them anymore. "Well, in Earth's history even up to the last century there were many rulers who claimed to rule by divine right. They claimed God or whatever god their people worshipped chose them to rule, and therefore to oppose them was to oppose God's will. If Amun-Re is some sort of 'father of the gods,' perhaps the Goa'Uld believe they can't oppose him."

Jacob sighed. "I don't know, Danny. Sounds like a long shot."

Daniel nodded. "I agree. I guess I was just thinking out loud."

Carter chewed her bottom lip as she thought it over. "Well, it's a theory anyway. There's no evidence really against it at the moment."

"Unfortunately, theories may not stop Anubis from destroying this planet," Hammond replied.

"Ok, if only Amun-Re can command Anubis, how could he send Anubis if he's in stasis?" Carter repeated her question.

"Unless, he is not in stasis," Teal'c stated.

Jolinar shook her head. "No, he is… he must be. My visions…"

"Are contradictory," Selmak interrupted.

"Unless…," she pressed her fingers to her temples and breathed deeply. "The Ardai and Trien attacked the Solari base before I made it there. It is possible some of them came back in time just before me. Perhaps, they have just awakened Amun-Re."

Jack rubbed his jaw. "So we're dealing with an Amun-Re impostor, or the real Amun-Re who's just woken up and may be a little grumpy. Could the Ardai or Trien have known about your mission?"

Jolinar glanced at Jack. "It is possible. There are those among the Solari whose allegiance to their emperor is tenuous at best. The base was supposed to be secret. I believe we may have been betrayed."

"K'sal," Carter said suddenly. "There's something about her."

Jolinar raised a blonde eyebrow. "What is it?"

"When we first got to the Solari base, K'sal called me 'Sol O'Neill,'" Sam said.

Jolinar stared at Carter blankly. "That doesn't mean anything. Sol is your title and your name is O'Neill in the future. Sol means 'General' basically. The Vani military uses the Solari military ranks."

Sam shook her head in disagreement. "No, that's just it, Jolinar. In the future my title may be Sol, but how would K'sal know that?"

Jolinar's hands shook, and she had to grip the table to steady herself. "My God."

Daniel tapped his pen on the table and everyone glanced at him. "Didn't you say the Solari could see into the future?"

"Yes, but not that far and not all Solari. Only the original five thousand Solari. Solari born in this dimension do not have the ability. K'sal is native to this universe," Jolinar said.

"How do you know that?" Jack asked.

Jolinar tapped her forehead with her forefinger. "I'm trained to know."

"Does this create a problem?" Teal'c asked.

"Indeed," Jolinar said softly. "K'sal has knowledge of the distant future somehow. If she is working with the Ardai… we are in grave danger. If Amun-Re is in stasis we need to find him and discover who is posing as him. I don't understand… my visions have never failed me… but if Amun-Re is in stasis… who was in my vision?"

"Where is he, Jolie?" Jack asked.

She covered her face with her hands. "I don't know. I have visions of his chamber but cannot place it."

"I'll find him," Daniel said quietly, seeming to stare into nothing.

"What's that, Daniel?"

"Just give me time," Daniel replied.

Jack rubbed his forehead. "How much time do we have?"

Jolinar sighed. "I don't know… a few days maybe."

"We'll talk to the Solari tomorrow. I have a suggestion for them," Jack said, guiding Jolinar back to her seat. He stood behind her, resting his hands lightly on her shoulders.

Jolinar shook her head. "They won't go to preemptive war against the Goa'Uld for us."

Jack nodded. "But they might for themselves, if it's in their best interest. We just have to convince them."


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

It was still early in the afternoon when Hammond had dismissed them all. He knew they were exhausted and needed to rest. He had a feeling things would be getting very busy. Jack insisted he needed to stay on base to help Hammond get things going with preparing for Anubis, but Hammond informed him he'd be completely useless if he didn't get some rest. In any case, if they believed Jolinar, they had a few days to prepare. Jack finally relented and invited everyone over for an afternoon of beer. It was an unusually warm late October afternoon, and Jack saw no reason for it to go to waste.

Jack came out of his kitchen onto the back deck with two cases of cold beer dangling from one hand and a glass of lemonade in the other. He set the cases of beer on the wooden table everyone had gathered around on the deck. Teal'c followed behind with bags of chips and boxes of snack cakes.

"Glad to see you're keeping up the healthy lifestyle, Jack," Jacob said as Jack handed him a beer.

"Well, Jacob, you should be grateful I invited you. I have noticed in my frequent, and might I say unpleasant, dealings with the Tok'ra, that they have a decided lack of beer," Jack said as he passed beers around to Teal'c, Janet, Daniel, and Jolinar.

Jolinar shook her head at the offered beer and a look of disgust spread across her face. "God, no."

Jack looked at her in shock, half mocking a look of deep hurt. "You're kidding? You don't like beer?"

"I've never had one, but it stinks. I'll just take some water," she replied, turning her nose up at it.

"That's the worst thing I've ever heard," Jack said, shaking his head sadly.

"I will attain a glass of water on your behalf, Jolinar," Teal'c said and vanished back into the kitchen.

"Uh, Jack?" Carter said, holding up her empty hands.

Jack smacked his forehead. He handed her the glass of lemonade. "Oh, sorry, Babe," he said and then froze when he realized everyone had turned their shocked or amused eyes on him. Carter blushed.

Jacob cleared his throat and grinned at Jack. "Uh, what was that, Jack?"

"Ba… ba… babe, it's uh… Solari for Colonel. Isn't that right, Daniel?" Jack asked, looking to Daniel meaningfully.

"How the hell would I kno….," he started and then felt Janet's elbow in his side. "Oh, yes, Solari. That's right, Jacob. Amazing coincidence. The word is actually derived from their word… 'babent,' which means leader. Fascinating language."

"Uh huh," Jacob said with a grunt.

Teal'c reemerged and took a seat next to Jolinar, handing her a glass of water.

"Uh, Jack, what is this?" Carter asked, taking another sip from her glass.

Jack frowned. "It's lemonade. I made it fresh."

"Just lemonade?" She scoffed. "Everyone else gets beer and I get lemonade?"

Jack gave her curt nod and winked but from her glare, he realized she wasn't getting it. "Well, I thought maybe… you should cut out the alcohol for a while. You know, in your condition."

"Not a bad idea, Sam," Janet agreed with a sly grin.

"Condition?" Jacob asked with a heavy frown.

Jolinar laughed. "I would certainly appreciate it if you didn't drink for a few months. I do hate the stuff."

Jacob glanced at Jolinar then back to a blushing Sam. He sighed. "You've got to be kidding me. You're already…"

"Surprise, Jacob Carter," Teal'c stated evenly and took a drink from his beer.

"Jack?" Jacob said, locking Jack in his stare.

Jack couldn't suppress a chuckle and took a swig from his own drink. He raised his bottle. "Here's to surprises!"

"What's the surprise?" A cheerful voice asked from the kitchen and then the voice's owner, Cassandra, walked onto the deck. She dropped her backpack by the door and ran over to Sam, hooking her arms around her neck. "Sam!"

Sam wrapped her arms around the affectionate teenager. "Hi, Cassie, what are you doing here?"

"Mom called me. My friend dropped me off. She's so lucky. She can drive," Cassie pouted.

"Soon enough, Sweetheart," Janet said with a tense smile. "Too soon."

Cassandra spotted Jacob and ran to give him a hug.

Everyone tried to conceal a smile at the girl's bubbling energy.

"Hi, I'm Cassandra," she said, waving to Jolinar.

Jolinar smiled and nodded. "It's nice to meet you."

"This is Jolie, Cassie," Jack said gesturing towards Jolinar with the top of his beer bottle. "She's a… visitor."

Cassie smiled knowingly. "Gotcha," she said with a wink and looked back to Jolinar. "Welcome to Earth!"

Before Jolinar could respond Cassandra ran over to a corner of the porch where Jack had a pile of miscellaneous sports equipment. She dug till she found the Frisbee and then ran back to the table. "Come on, Daniel."

"Cassie, Daniel's tired. He needs to rest," Janet said firmly, bringing a frown to Cassie's face. Janet gave a quiet sigh. Cassie was nearly sixteen but was pouting over a Frisbee game. She always played some game with Daniel whenever they all spent time together at Jack's. Since her scare with Niirti, she and Daniel had become closer.

"No, I'll play, Cass," Daniel said, resigning himself to his fate and returning the cheerful smile to Cassie's face. He groaned and pushed up from his chair. He laid his arm across her shoulders and walked with her into the yard.

"So, did you ask her yet?" Cassie whispered, once they were far enough from the deck.

Daniel grinned. "You don't give up do you?"

"Never," she giggled. "Well, at least not until I get what I want."

"I did ask her," he said.

"Great, so when? Details, Daniel!" She pleaded.

"You don't even know if she said yes. She might've turned me down," he replied.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what she did," she said with a roll of her eyes.

Daniel gave an exasperated smile. "You think you know it all, don't you?"

"Go on. Get over there," she said. "I'm going to beat you bad for that."

Jolinar watched Daniel and Jolinar intently as they began tossing the Frisbee.

"I wish I could remember when I had that much energy," Jack said with a fond look at Cassandra.

Carter leaned in close to him. "Oh, I think I remember a time," she whispered enticingly.

Jack gave her a roguish grin and shook his head in disbelief.

"She's certainly a handful," Janet said, watching Cassandra and Daniel tossing the Frisbee as Daniel laughed at something Cassie had said.

"She's grown a lot," Jacob replied. "Seems like she was just a kid the other day." He then smiled at Janet. "So, Sam tells me you and Danny…"

Sam's face went pale and she frowned at her father, gesturing to him to shut up. Jack laughed, choking on his beer.

Janet flushed and gave Sam an amused glance. "What did she say, Jacob?"

"None of you have changed at all," Jolinar said, smiling to herself.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Daniel was fast asleep and had been for a while by the time Janet pulled into her driveway. Jack had offered to let Daniel stay at his place, because he still didn't want him driving, and Janet admitted to herself that she didn't either. She was worried about what Jolinar or her nanites had done, regardless of the fact that it gave her an excuse to spend more time with him and had asked him to come home with her and Cassandra so she could keep an eye on him. It did frighten her how quickly they were becoming comfortable with each other. They hadn't even had a real date yet, but they'd known each other so long, and though she couldn't speak for Daniel, her feelings for him had been developing for years. She understood what had held Sam and Jack back, but she started to wonder what had taken her and Daniel so long.

Cassie jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped and headed for the house.

Janetunbuckled her seatbelt and turned to him. "Daniel," she whispered, touching a hand to his face. His face was warm, and she cupped his cheek.

He opened his blue eyes and smiled. "Hi," he said groggily.

She let her hand slide down to his shoulder, gently massaging the tense muscles.

He let out a soft, approving groan and closed his eyes again.

"If you can drag yourself inside I'll make a comfy spot on the couch for you to watch the History Channel while I make supper," she offered.

"That sounds nice," he said, leaning closer to her. "Thanks for looking after me. You're a good doctor, despite what Jack says."

Janet gave a gentle smile. "Is that all I am?"

Daniel's face became serious and made her heart race with its open sincerity. He shook his head. "No, not even close."

She leaned in and kissed him gently, and he returned the kiss eagerly as he slid an arm around her slender waist. They broke apart reluctantly to catch their breath and shared a treasured smile.

"Come on, Doctor Jackson," she said sweetly, "you need to come inside and relax. That's an order."

He kissed her again tenderly before they got out of the car.

"Come on, Daniel!" Cassie shouted happily, running from the porch to wrap an arm around the bewildered archaeologist.

"Careful, Cass, he's still half asleep," Janet said with a laugh.

Cassie gave Janet an amused glance. "Well, he looked awake enough for you to kiss him."

Janet blushed and Daniel couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's rude to spy, young lady," Janet said.

"Ah, but you guys are so cute," Cassie pouted playfully. "I just can't believe you finally got up the nerve to ask her out," she teased and punched him playfully in the shoulder. "How long have I been telling you to?"

Daniel blushed and looked at the ground sheepishly.

Janet looked at Cassie and Daniel in shock. "Excuse me?"

Cassie shrugged her shoulders innocently. "Well, he's so shy, which is so adorable. He just needed encouragement."

Daniel blushed deeper than Janet and grabbed Cassie by the shoulders. "Come on, kiddo," he said, ushering her toward the house. "How about you teach me some Hanakan while your Mom fixes supper?"

Cassie's face lit up. "Will you teach me Goa'Uld?"

Daniel frowned. "Why would you possibly want that? Why not Latin? Or Greek? I hear teenage guys love girls who speak Latin."

"So that next time I see a Goa'Uld I can curse it in its own language," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Fair enough," Daniel conceded.

Janet sighed and with a satisfied smile followed them into the house.

Thirty minutes later Daniel was fast asleep on the couch, having successfully learned how to say "hello," "goodbye," and "I hate the Goa'Uld" in Hanakan. Cassie threw a blanket over Daniel, and entered the kitchen, confident in her new repertoire of Goa'Uld curses.

"Done already?" Janet asked, when she saw Cassie walk into the kitchen. "I know Daniel is a fast learner but that was a little quick."

Cassie opened the refrigerator and began to rummage for something to drink. "He fell asleep. I think I bored him." She grabbed a bottle of water and shut the door. She leaned against the fridge, watching her mom work on supper.

Janet laughed as she busied herself with the meal. "If there's one thing that doesn't bore Daniel, it's languages. He's just very tired, Cass. He's had a rough couple of days," Janet said, sadness in her voice. "He's been through a lot."

Cassie frowned and walked over to her mom. "Is he ok, Mom?" She asked, her voice quiet and shaking. Daniel, along with Jack and Teal'c, was like an uncle to her. He was one of the ones who'd saved her life. She would never forget that and wouldn't be at all bothered if he became something more than an uncle.

Janet smiled at her daughter warmly. "Yes, he is now, Sweetheart. He just needs to rest."

Cassie took a drink of her water and then grinned at her mom happily.

Janet returned her smile. "What?"

"Why did you bring him here?" She asked twirling her long red hair around her forefinger.

Janet blushed and turned to mess with the oven, to avoid Cassie's perceptive eyes. "Jack didn't think he should drive or be alone right now. He's still recovering."

"Hmmm," Cassie said thoughtfully, tapping her chin with her forefinger. "So why didn't he stay with Jack or on the base?"

"Daniel needed to get away from the base. Jack needs to spend time with Sam, Jacob, and Jolinar. Oh, he got promoted. I can't believe we forgot to mention it," Janet said, opening the oven to glance at her roast. "Oh, Sam got promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. You need to call her soon and congratulate her."

"That's great, Mom. I'm sure Jack is thrilled to know he gets to boss more people around now," she said with a giggle. "But quit trying to change the subject."

Janet closed the oven quickly and turned to look at Cassie. "I'm not trying. I have no trouble talking about Daniel."

"I'm a teenager not an idiot," she said, crossing her arms and smiling confidently.

Janet nodded and went to dig through a cabinet for something, anything. Janet couldn't help but smile, Cassie was reminding her of Teal'c. "I'm worried about him, Cass," she confessed.

"That's what doctors do but most doctors don't bring their patients home with them," Cassie said.

Janet turned back to Cassie. "Why can't you just accept I'm worried about him? Daniel's more than a patient, Cassandra. He's our friend."

Cassie set her water on the cabinet and walked over to her mom. "He's been hurt bad before, and you never brought him home. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I just want you to see, Mom."

She gave Cassie a puzzled smile. "What's that?"

"Things are different now." Cassie smiled sweetly and kissed Janet on the cheek. "I think you're in love, and he's quite a catch I might add," she said and laughed.

Janet blushed and shook her head, looking for something on the counter to focus her attention on, but finding nothing, looked back at Cassie. "Cassie, Sweetheart, you're a teenager. You think everything is love."

Cassie frowned. "Don't be like that, Mom."

"Like what?"

"Sam and Jack," she said simply. "Besides, you're not denying it. Just say it's not true and I'll leave you alone. I promise," she said and crossed her heart.

Janet sighed and rolled her eyes at her daughter. "Cassandra,…"

Cassie clapped her hands together and grew a huge grin. "I knew it. This is great! Ok, ok, so what are you fixing for supper? We need to impress him."

Janet raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Are you trying to say something about my cooking?"

"Oh, no, no, no. It's great, Mom. You just do some stuff better than other stuff," Cassandra explained. She walked over and pulled open the oven. She groaned heavily. "Roast, Mom? That's not gonna cut it."

Janet frowned. "What's wrong with my roast?"

Cassie closed the oven and went and leaned against a kitchen cabinet. She bit on the tip of her tongue and tapped her fingers against her thighs as she thought. Her face suddenly brightened. "Ok, you get rid of the roast. I'll run down to The Golden Dragon and pick up some Chinese. Can I have some cash?"

"How is someone else's cooking going to impress him?" Janet asked wryly.

"He's asleep. We can fix it up nice so it looks like you made it. You do make great Chinese, Mom, but we don't have enough time."

Janet shook her head vigorously. "But my roast is…"

"Boring," Cassie interjected with a sly grin. "It's roast, Mom. Old people eat roast. What's exciting about that? Daniel travels across the galaxy. You can't serve him roast on his first dinner here. You get the table and stuff ready, and I'll be back in a jiff."

Janet sighed and then glanced at Cassie, a hopeful smile on her face. "Chinese?'

Cassie smiled and threw her arms around her mom's neck. "This is great."

Janet hugged her daughter. She hadn't expectedsuch an excitedreaction from Cassie. She knew Cassie likedDaniel a lot, but it seemed to be more than that. "Cassie, don't rush things. It's just dinner. I don't even know how he feels exac…"

Cassie rolled her eyes and giggled, waving her mom's uncertainties aside. "Please, Mom, you've got to be kidding. Do you even pay attention to how he looks at you? Both of you are so scared of the other. Ok, no more lectures. I gotta get the food. Make sure you set out the nice candles."


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

After dinner Daniel was on the back porch breathing in the cool evening air, trying to relax. He had praised the meal to no end, perhaps a little over the top, but it had been a good dinner, the best Chinese he'd had in a while. Instead of being allowed to help though, Janet had ordered him into the comfy old porch swing on the back porch for some fresh air while she and Cassie cleaned up. He had stretched out along the length of the swing, resting the back of his head against one of the chains that suspended the swing from the ceiling. A yellow legal notepad rested on his lap and with his right hand he had been working on his written Hanakan. His left hand hung at his side over the edge of the swing, lazily stroking the fur of Cassie's dog, who appeared completely content.

Janet came out the backdoor and shook her mockingly. "You two certainly make quite a pair," she laughed.

Daniel smiled. "We understand one another."

With a slight groan Daniel pulled himself up into more of a sitting position and then swung his legs around to free up a spot for Janet. She smiled and sat down next to him. The dog looked up at Daniel, his big brown eyes questioning the cessation of petting. Daniel smiled uneasily, and she thought he was about to put his arm around her then relented. She laid her head against his shoulder and pressed against him.

"Are you ok, Daniel?" She whispered.

He slid his arm around her and nodded. "Yeah, Jan, I think I am." He began gently rubbing her shoulder.

"Cassie is worried about you," she said, glancing up at him.

"She's a good kid. You've done a great job with her," he replied fondly.

"You've all helped. Sam's been like her best friend. You, Jack, and Teal'c have been the best uncles any kid could ask for," she said, remembering the many days like today they'd all spent over in Jack's backyard. She and Sam would sit and chat while Jack grilled and Teal'c and Daniel played Frisbee or catch with Cassie. They'd all helped raise her.

"Maybe, but it was mostly you. I think she'll make us all proud."

Janet nodded in agreement and nuzzled her face against his neck. "It's cold out here. How about some hot chocolate and a movie? The couch is much cozier."

Daniel kissed her hair. "Sounds nice."

They both stood up and Daniel dropped his notepad. Janet leaned down to pick it up and noticed his scribbled Hanakan.

"Learning to write? Well, you're doing better than me. I've only mastered 'hello.'" She glanced back at his writing and then back to him, her face serious. She pointed to a sentence. "What's this?"

Daniel took the pad from her and looked. One of his sentences had trailed off unfinished and was followed by gate coordinates. He scowled. "I have no idea. I don't remember writing that."

"Do you know the coordinates?"

His brow furrowed, and he searched his mind. "No. I don't recall them."

She let out a deep breath. "Do you want me to take you back to base?" She really didn't want this night to end yet.

He stuck the pad under his arm and took her hand. "Thought you said something about a movie?"

She smiled and griped his hand tighter. "Are you sure?"

He let the pad fall and pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "Can I tell you something? Something… that might make you want me to leave."

Her face grew pale and she swallowed hard. She returned his embrace and searched his eyes. "You can tell me anything. I won't ask you to leave, Daniel."

He smiled uncertainly. "This whole Sam and Jack and near death thing have made me start thinking. I've cared about you for a long time, more than a patient or even a friend is supposed to."

She blushed. "Go on."

He nodded. "I don't know what made Sam and Jack… open up to each other finally. Maybe it was seeing their daughter, their unspoken love for each other personified. Maybe it was coincidence, they may have already decided and Jolinar showing up had nothing to do with it. I don't know how, but I do know I'm very happy for them. They have each other and a daughter who was willing to leave everything behind to try and save them."

Janet had been listening intently but really wasn't sure what Daniel had thought would make her so upset. "What about you and me?"

He pressed his forehead to hers. "I know what's making me open up… facing death, and you weren't there."

She began to cry. "Daniel… I'm sorry…"

He reached his hands up to cup her face. "No, Jan, no. I'm not blaming you, please. I came back from Kelowna and already knew I was going to die and then they told me they couldn't reach you. I was going to die without seeing you again." His fingertips brushed the tears from her cheeks. "I just wanted you to be there. Then Oma came to me, but… I couldn't go with her. I had to hold on a little longer to see you, to hope. I turned down immortality for you."

Her quiet sobs made her shake in his arms. He was right, she did want him to leave. She was terrified of how much she wanted to be there for him, and afraid he'd resent her for what he'd given up.

He kissed her forehead and then looked into her eyes. "Jolinar isn't the only one who gave up her life to help us. Her husband… our son… is out there somewhere suffering, and I know that I'm going to have to go find him. Jolinar will refuse to abandon him and so must I."

Her brown eyes grew wide, and she struggled to speak, to say something to this startling revelation. She could see he was so afraid. She tightened her arms around him.

"But for the moment… I want to forget Anubis, the future, everything… and just fall under a warm blanket with you on your cozy couch," he said, his voice nearly breaking.

"I love you, Daniel," she whispered before catching his lips with hers.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Daniel lay on the couch, Janet cuddled up next to him, her arm around his waist and her head resting on his chest, with a warm blanket covering them. They watched the movie insilence, merely enjoying their closeness. Daniel wanted to lay there for days, feeling her pressed against him, and just rest with her watching over him.

"Are you afraid, Daniel?" She asked softly, trying not to disturb the easy comfortable silence they'd settled into in the darkness, a darkness broken only by the soft glow of the black and white movie playing across the television.

He reached up a hand to gently stroke her hair. "Yeah, Jan. Are you?"

She nodded. "But that's ok right?"

He smiled. "Yeah, it's ok for us to be afraid. I think it would be strange if we weren't afraid of something this intense."

She rolled over on top of him and slid up so she could look down into his eyes. He reached a tentative hand up to her face, sliding his fingers back through her hair.

She involuntarily closed her eyes, a chill running through her. "Intense," she whispered, musing over everything that had happened. She opened her eyes. "Going kind've fast aren't we?"

He grinned and pulled her lips down to his, capturing them in a chaste kiss. "Someone I know said 'it's about the moment. We choose our own fate.' What do you choose?"

She pressed her forehead against his, cupping his face in her soft hands, hands that for so many years had touched him, healed his wounds, but touched him now in a new way. She could see the deeper wounds now, and she had her own. They would have to face those together if they continued, and it would take more than just her hands or his to heal those, but she was willing, knowing how much joy it would bring her to push even one of his painful memories into forgetfulness. "I choose you, my Daniel."

"I love you, too," he said, and pulled her into his arms.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

As soon as Daniel and Janet arrived on base the next morning his first stop was the control room. He had to find out where those coordinates went. Sam was already there, running some diagnostics on the gate.

"Morning, Sam," Daniel said and took a sip of his coffee, once again it was terrible, tasting more like brown water than anything he would consider calling coffee.

"Hey there, Daniel," she said with a cheerful good morning smile. "How was your evening?"

He gave a slight grin and took a seat next to her. "Good. Very, very good."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Care to fill me in?"

Daniel flushed. "Umm, supper… was good." He coughed into his hand. "How about you? Your Dad still hanging around? Chasing after Jack maybe?"

Sam grinned and punched in some codes on the keyboard. "He left last night. The four of us had supper together at O'Malley's. It was… different. Dad says Jolinar is just like me."

Daniel laughed. "Well, I wasn't going to say it, but…"

Sam rolled her eyes and scanned the computer screen for errors. "She is starting to grow on me, slowly. I just hope she really knows what she's getting us into."

Daniel nodded and quickly produced his yellow notepad. "So, I um have these coordinates. I wanted to run them through the computer and see what we came up with."

Sam chuckled and shook her head. "Sure thing, Daniel. Where'd you get them?"

He reached a hand up to massage his neck. "Well… I'm not sure. I wrote them I'm pretty sure, but where they came from I don't exactly know."

Sam cocked her head and regarded him with a curious stare. "Fair enough." She took the notepad from him and propped it up beside her keyboard. She loaded up the dialing program and did a search for the coordinates. "Nothing, Daniel. They don't match any coordinates in our database."

"How long till we're going to visit the Solari?"

Sam glanced at her watch, and it was only about 730 hours. "Just over four hours."

"Well, that's plenty of time to at least check this address out," he said and rushed off to Hammond's office.

Sam stretched, yawned, and after grabbing her cup of coffee, followed after him. When she walked into Hammond's office Daniel was already well into his spiel of trying to convince Hammond to let him dial up his mystery address.

Hammond raised his hand to signal Daniel to stop. "Dr. Jackson, those coordinates could go anywhere. We have no idea what we'd be gating into."

Daniel nodded but gave a Hammond an odd look. "Well, General, we take that same risk with any address."

"He makes a good point, Sir," Carter said, stepping up beside Daniel.

Hammond sighed. "True, but these coordinates you're bringing me have been gathered by less than standard measures. You don't even know how you got them."

Daniel shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "It's got to have something to do with these visions Jolinar gave me the ability to see. It must have been something subconscious."

"Colonel?" Hammond turned to Carter questioningly. "SG-1 is your team now. I'll let you make the call."

Sam smiled uneasily. Her team. That was an odd feeling. "It can't hurt to check it out, Sir. If Anubis is really coming I don't think we can afford to overlook anything."

"Very well, Colonel. Have a probe sent through immediately," Hammond ordered.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

The probe returned readings of a lush tropical planet but had detected no nearby structures. Carter and Daniel were in the briefing room showing the video feed to Hammond and Teal'c when Jack and Jolinar joined them.

"What are we looking at?" Jack asked, gesturing to the video screen and then taking seat. Jolinar took her seat next to him.

"A planet Daniel came up with the coordinates for," Carter replied.

Daniel slid his notepad across the table towards Jolinar. "Are those coordinates familiar, Jolinar?"

She picked up the notepad and studied the address for a moment. She shook her head resignedly. "No, Daniel. Did they come from a vision?"

"I think so," he replied.

"You think so?" Jack asked.

Daniel shrugged. "That's all I know, Jack."

Jolinar looked at Daniel. "Do you believe Amun-Re is there?"

Daniel stared at her helplessly. "I just don't know. We won't know until we go there."

"Then let's check it out. Like Colonel Carter says, we really can't afford not to," Hammond said.

"If this is Amun-Re's resting place you need to be prepared. The Ardai or Trien could be there. It could be a trap," Jolinar said.

Carter returned to her seat. "We'll be prepared. Don't worry."

Jolinar huffed. "Your weapons are useless against the Trien." She leaned forward in her chair and held her hand flat just a few inches above the table. They watched in awe as from the bottom of her wrists and the back of her neck a dark blue liquid spread over her skin and bodysuit until it had enveloped her entire body from the neck down and then solidified into a metallic second skin. All this happened in only a matter of seconds.

"Whoa," Jack said.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

Jolinar's hand still rested just above the table and there was a small flash of light from her palm. She removed her hand to reveal four small v-shaped pieces of the dark blue metal. She then looked at each of them. "To face the Ardai, Trien, or even Solari dissidents, you will need my technology."

Daniel cleared his throat. "Yeah… you already gave me some."

Jolinar nodded and smiled. "Yes, but the nanites I gave you were programmed to do nothing more than enhance your mind and heal your wounds. These are so much more."

Carter raised an eyebrow. "Those are nanites?"

Jolinar picked up one of the pieces of metal and held it up for them to see. It was only about two inches long and a quarter inch thick. "This is the most powerful weapon of Vani's SG teams. This implant contains, among other things, fifteen thousand nanites of varying functions. It is similar to the technology the Solari will give you for your off world SG teams, that is where we got it of course. Though this version has nearly a century of advancement. I've brought one for each of you."

"Umm, I think I'll pass," Jack replied with a grimace. "I've done the nanite thing."

"I agree with O'Neill," Teal'c said.

Jolinar frowned. "You won't survive without my help."

"We've done just fine so far," Carter replied with a cold smile.

Daniel rested his chin on his hand, studying Jolinar and the armor that covered her. "What does it do?"

She flipped over her hands showing the bottom of her wrists. The armor peeled back from her hands and halfway up her forearms, revealing the implants on her wrists. "These are identical to my implants. There are no negative effects but many positive ones. Excellent health and long life are only the beginning."

"Sounds a little too much like a snake for me," Jack muttered.

"But you have more than one," Daniel said, ignoring Jack's interruption. "You only brought one for each of us. How do you know how effective we'll be with just one?"

"The nanites create the other four implants after they enter the body," Jolinar replied.

"Why do you require more than one?" Teal'c questioned, arching his eyebrow.

"Having implants spread across the body, one on each wrist, one on each calf, and one on the back of the neck allows for much more rapid deployment of the armor you see me wearing, and should an implant be damaged the others can take over until it is repaired. There are other more technical reasons relating to nanite intercommunication, power distribution, etc., but I won't bore you," Jolinar explained.

Jack gave a slight yawn and frowned. "Too late."

"If these implants are of such value why do you place them at the surface of the skin where they are visible for attack?" Teal'c asked.

"The implants are highly resistant to damage so that is of little concern. It is highly unlikely that all five implants could be destroyed before at least one of them is fully repaired in any case," she said. She smiled at Teal'c. "Also, they are badges of honor. The implants identify those who wear them as the greatest warriors of Vani, who put defense of our world above everything else. Nanotechnology is common on Vani as I have said, so to us there is nothing unusual about it."

"So, in the future I have these things?" Jack asked skeptically, frowning. "How the hell did I get talked in to that?"

"You put the safety of Earth and Vani above your own distaste," Jolinar said, giving him a fond smile. "I hope now you'll be talked into it simply because you trust me. I can't let you go through the gate without them. It would be too dangerous."

"You can't let them?" Hammond asked. "Are you saying you'll attempt to stop them from using the gate if they don't use those things?"

"I will not let them endanger their lives needlessly, General Hammond," Jolinar replied grimly. "I will go alone if I must."

Jack sighed and looked at her. He studied her face for a moment. "Can you really stop us?"

Her face grew calm and serious, and she only gave him a slight nod. "Please, I need your help."


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Jack sat on the edge of the bed uneasily and jumped when Jolinar stepped up to him. Somehow he had volunteered to be the first one, he wasn't sure why. He knew he had to trust Jolinar. Hammond, Sam, Daniel, Teal'c, and Janet looked on.

"Just relax," she said soothingly. "Think of your pond with no fish."

Sam chuckled. "He told you about that did he?"

Jolinar smiled. "Often. Unfortunately I never got to visit."

"If I survive this, I'll take you sometime," Jack said.

She grinned then gently tilted Jack's head to the side and pulled back the collar of his shirt with one hand and pressed the implant to the back of his neck with the other. She placed the implant with the point of the 'v' pointing up and reaching just beneath his hairline. "It will sting for just a minute."

Jack gritted his teeth as the implant sunk in until it was flush with his skin. Two small solid circles, made of the same blue metal, appeared on his neck just above the v's point. "Damn," he snarled.

"Ok, all done. There'll be a little odd feeling in just a few minutes when the other implants are forced to the surface, but the nanites will numb any pain," she said and patted him on the shoulder.

"How do you feel, Jack?" Janet asked. It wasn't that she didn't trust Jolinar, but she was fairly certain Jolinar wasn't telling them everything she knew.

Jack stood up and stretched his arms above his head, arching his back. "Just fine, Doc. So, when does this excellent health kick in?"

Jolinar laughed and shook her head. "Give it time. Okay, Daniel."

She quickly gave Daniel and Carter their implants, and both thought Jack had over exaggerated the pain. She then turned to Janet. "I brought one for you as well, Janet."

Janet's eyebrows arched up, and she raised her hands defensively. "No."

Jolinar sighed and opened her hand to reveal a silver colored implant. "This implant is different. This implant is designed specifically for our medics. If you have doubts or concerns about the effects of the nanites on them, this is your best chance to keep an eye on them. This implant will allow you to monitor the activity of their nanites, and if they are seriously injured, you can supplement their nanites with your own enhanced medical abilities."

Janet shook her head uncertainly and looked to Daniel for guidance.

"It's your choice, Jan," he said gently.

"Please," Jolinar said softly. "I don't know what's going to happen. I need you to survive. This will help."

Janet looked into Jolinar's face, which was begging her. Why was she so desparate? Ian, the thought hit her and made her almost flinch. Jolinar was trying to protect her, to protect a child that did not yet exist. "Ok," she said quietly.

Jolinar nodded and smiled thankfully. After Janet she looked to Teal'c and smiled uneasily.

She crossed her arms and sighed. "Umm, Teal'c, we're going to need to remove your symbiote," she said hesitantly.

Teal'c arched an eyebrow and everyone looked at Jolinar.

"That will kill him," Janet argued.

Jolinar shook her head. "No. The nanites will repair the damage the symbiote has done to his body. He won't need it again… ever."

Jack glanced at Teal'c. "Teal'c,… you've always wanted to be free from the Goa'Uld."

"Indeed," Teal'c said. "If she has your trust O'Neill, then she has mine as well." Teal'c nodded his head to Jolinar and approached the bed.

"We'll need to get the container we've used before to keep the symbiote alive," Janet said. They would need that symbiote if Jolinar's technology wasn't as advanced as she claimed.

"I'll help," Sam offered.

The two of them left the infirmary and headed to the medical storage room.

"So," Sam said, emphasizing the word heavily, "what'd you do last night?"

Janet flushed and swiped her badge on the room's access panel, unlocking the door. "I went home. How about you?"

Sam gave her a sarcastic smile. "No, what did you do at home?"

Janet walked into the room. "Oh, me, Daniel, and Cassie had supper."

"Then?" Sam pressed.

Janet turned to Sam and laughed. "You're being just like Cassie."

"Well, I consider that a compliment," Sam joked.

Janet sighed and began looking for the tank. "We fell asleep on the couch watching a movie."

"You and Cassie?" Sam teased.

"Now, you're acting like Jack," Janet replied. "Oh, here's the tank." The small glass tank was already on a cart and she rolled it toward the door. She stopped and looked at Sam, smiling. "It was so soothing, Sam. We just cuddled up for a movie and fell asleep. I woke up this morning, and he was still there next to me, waiting for me. It was an amazing feeling."

Sam smiled and felt a tingling in her wrists. She glanced down to see the 'v' and its two circles had appeared as promised. "So far so good."

Janet shook her head uncertainly. "Let me know if you feel anything unusual, Sam."

"Sure thing, Janet," Sam replied. "I think you and Daniel already feel something unusual," she said with a wink and left the room, pulling the tank behind her.

Janet gave a light laugh and followed after her. They began to set the tank up in the infirmary and fill it with the liquids necessary to sustain the symbiote. Teal'c watched silently, contemplating the fact that he might not ever have a symbiote again.

"I trust her, Teal'c," Jack said reassuringly.

Teal'c gave Jack a slight grin and nodded.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

Teal'c, Daniel, Sam, and Jolinar were in the gate room, waiting for the chevrons to finish locking when Jack came in. They were all armed with P-90's and outfitted in fatigues except for Jolinar. Jolinar had insisted their weapons weren't necessary but that argument hadn't gone far.

Teal'c continually glanced down at his stomach. It was certainly an odd feeling. The nanites had already sealed up his pouch and left not a scar or any evidence he'd been a Jaffa, save the emblem of Apophis adorning his forehead.

"Coming, Sir?" Sam asked, walking toward Jack.

Jack smiled and shook his head. "Not this time, Colonel. This one is yours. General Hammond and I have to get the ball rolling here. If Anubis is coming, we need to be ready." He looked at Jolinar, standing there in her white bodysuit. He frowned. "If you're a soldier, you should know that white means surrender and makes you stick out."

She rolled her eyes. "I've been a soldier far longer than you. I think I can handle it."

Jack faked a hurt look and Jolinar sighed. The blue liquid expanded out across her once again until it covered her entire body, even her face. It gave her a definite alien appearance Jack thought, made her appear to be a creature made only of metal. There appeared to be no slots for her eyes, nose, or ears. Then she quickly cloaked, her body becoming rapidly clearer and insubstantial until she vanished altogether.

Jack whistled. "Nice."

"Indeed," Teal'c concurred.

She deactivated her cloak and nodded appreciatively to Jack.

"But how do you see through that metal on your face?" He asked.

"The advanced scanning systems in the armor provide me with senses far superior to my own and relay the information directly to my mind. I see my surroundings far more clearly than you," she replied.

They all turned when they heard the blast wave and the wormhole appeared.

"How are we supposed to handle that?" Carter asked. "You've given us this advanced technology, but we have no clue how to use it."

Jolinar walked up the ramp. "Everything you need to know is in your mind. Just relax and trust your instincts."

"Instincts, right," Daniel muttered.

Sam scowled uneasily and gave Jack a smile. "Well, let's head out."

"Good luck, Sam," Jack said.

Sam mouthed silently, "I love you" and headed toward the gate.

Jack leaned against the wall, resting his hands in his pockets, watching SG-1 head off on their first mission without him. He watched as the four of them vanished through the gate and the wormhole shutdown.

"Love you too, Sam," he whispered and with a satisfied smile headed to his meeting with Hammond.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

The planet was exactly as the probe had indicated. Large trees grew all around them, and a dense canopy of green leaves blocked out most of the sunlight, leaving them in a semblance of dusk. The canopy far above their heads was alive with what sounded like the shrill chirps of wild birds. The cloying smell of honey seemed to drift down from the heights of the trees, and the forest floor itself was covered in creeping vines and vibrant orchid-like flowers ranging in color from red to purple. Teal'c knelt on the ground and wiped away some dirt.

"There is a stone path here, but it has not been used in many ages," he said and stood up.

Daniel walked around the small clearing in which the Stargate sat, looking for a marker, a ruin, anything. "Well, that looks like our best bet. I'm not finding anything."

"You got anything, Jolinar?" Carter asked, staring into the deeper woods where the canopy was even thicker and almost total darkness prevailed.

Jolinar nodded and started down the stone path. "There is an energy signature in this direction."

"Teal'c, take point," Carter ordered.

Teal'c nodded and moved up in front of Jolinar.

"I do not detect the presence of any Trien in the vicinity or Goa'Uld," Jolinar said.

"Well, that's good," Daniel said then looked around curiously. "Hmm."

"What's wrong, Daniel?" Carter asked.

"Umm, nothing, I just noticed with all the flowers and stuff… no allergies," he said and smiled.

Jolinar chuckled. "The nanites work quickly, Daniel."

Teal'c began down the path, Jolinar and Carter followed side by side and Daniel took up the rear. Carter and Daniel kept their eyes on the dark woods around them. Every once in a while they heard vicious guttural growls echoing from some distant place. As they drew away from the Stargate it grew darker, the canopy becoming impossibly thick.

After they had walked for half an hour Carter stopped them. She glanced at her watch and was forced to hit the button to light up its face. She groaned. "We've only got about an hour before we have to get back."

"Then let's not waste time," Jolinar suggested and started walking again. "The energy signature is not far now."

After another fifteen minutes they could see sunlight ahead. As they came closer they could see a large clearing, several hundred feet across, where there were no trees at all, allowing the sunlight to strike the ground unmolested. Getting nearer they could see in the center of the clearing a large rock and nothing else of consequence. They stopped just before the path entered the clearing, crouching in the darkness of the woods.

"There are fresh footprints in the clearing," Jolinar whispered.

Carter frowned. "I can't see anything."

"I can," Jolinar replied confidently. "That rock is emanating the energy I detected. I still don't detect any life signs."

"Ok, let's check it out," Carter ordered. "Teal'c, once we hit the clearing you and Jolinar go left along the edge. Daniel and I will go right. Stay out of sight till I give the signal."

"As you wish," Teal'c assented.

They entered the clearing and split up. Teal'c and Jolinar kept in the shadows of the trees, working their way around the clearing's edge. The heat in the clearing was intense compared to the relative coolness beneath the canopy.

Sam and Daniel moved slowly, weapons ready.

"So, any instincts coming to you?" Daniel whispered.

Carter glanced over her shoulder at him and smirked. "Not a damn thing. So, I heard you watched a movie last night."

Daniel blushed and suddenly jumped when a particularly loud bird's screeching cut through the humid air. "Umm, yeah, I did. Well, we started out watching a movie anyway. We feel asleep. It was relaxing though… no weird animal noises. Just a giant ape, poorly rendered even for 1933, throwing people around like rag dolls. He lived in a forest something like this actually."

Carter snickered. "I don't see a thing, Daniel, certainly no apes. Let's make for the rock."

Carter gave one last check around her and then headed for the rock, Daniel following on her heels. They were moving at a decent pace and a thought struck Daniel. "Sam?"

"Yeah, Daniel?" she asked without stopping.

"Umm, the air is quite humid, it's hot, and we're almost running," he said thoughtfully, as if he were going over the list in his mind.

"Ok?"

"Umm, but I don't feel hot. I mean I know it's hot in this clearing, but I don't feel it. Nor am I out of breath. I feel great."

"Me too. Those damn things do work fast," she said with a shake of her head. She waved in Teal'c direction, and he and Jolinar quickly emerged from the shadows and headed for the rock.

Daniel and Sam reached the rock first. There was nothing particularly amazing about it. It was about fifteen feet high and twenty feet in diameter. Sam saw the footprints around the rock. They were the only ones she had come across. How the hell had Jolinar seen them from so far away? They were fresh, relatively, but were at least a day old. They appeared to be normal human footprints. They were searching the rock's surface for any clues when Teal'c and Jolinar joined them.

Jolinar walked immediately to an area of the rock and placed her hand on it. A small area of the rock shimmered, and they all were taken aback when part of the rock vanished to reveal a door covered with hieroglyphs.

Daniel walked to the door and looked over the writing. He ran his fingers over the glyphs as he read, using his hand as a bookmark. "Well, this is rather anti-climactic I must admit. I did expect something a little grander for the resting place Amun-Re. The hype is never fulfilled," he lamented.

"How did you know that door was there?" Sam asked, locking her gaze on Jolinar.

"The technology is quite old. It was not difficult to detect. So, this is the chamber of Amun-Re?" Jolinar asked expectantly.

Daniel scratched his head and turned to Jolinar. "Well, that's what it says anyway. It also speaks of doom, death, and eternal torment for any who disturbs the sleep of the 'Sovereign of the Gods.'"

Sam gave a slight grunt. "Sovereign huh? Guess 'Father of the Gods' wasn't good enough anymore. Can you open it, Daniel?"

"I can," Jolinar stated. She pushed Daniel aside and pointed her hand at the door. A bolt of energy was emitted from a small glass circle set in the palm of her armor. The bolt struck the door and blasted it open.

"Hmmm, yeah… that door was older than the pyramids," he said, staring at the rubble sadly.

Teal'c gave Daniel a quick amused glance before his face returned to its normalcy of statuesque stoicism.

"Sorry, Daniel," Jolinar said. "We don't have time."

"Lead the way, Teal'c," Carter ordered, motioning her gun towards the door.

Teal'c nodded and entered the resting place of Amun-Re.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

The chamber was dark and musty. The only light was what little filtered in through the hole where the door had once been. Teal'c glanced around him. The chamber was small but he immediately saw a set of narrow stairs going down. He moved to the head of the stairs and looked down to see they descended into total darkness.

Daniel pulled a flashlight from his belt and shone it around the room. There were no markings or anything other than natural stone. He glanced down at the floor. "Look. There are footprints in here."

Carter knelt down to examine the prints. "These are just like the ones outside. They appear humanoid." She stood back up and glanced at Jolinar. "I guess someone beat us to him."

"We must be sure he is not here," Jolinar replied.

Sam nodded to Teal'c.

Teal'c pulled out his own flashlight and began down the stairs. Daniel, Jolinar, and then Carter fell into step behind him. The stairs were narrow and some were crumbling, forcing them to move cautiously.

Sam noticed the deeper they went the less musty the air became. The stairs moved steadily downward at nearly a sixty degree angle. She wondered how deep they were going.

"Jolinar," Carter said, "why exactly did Amun-Re leave?"

"Well, we aren't positive. What little we know suggests that he is quite old. Just before he left it seems he had fought a long and arduous campaign. I'm not sure against whom. We believe he wanted a rest to rejuvenate himself after so long." She gestured vaguely to the stone walls on either side of them. "I wouldn't exactly call this place relaxing."

"I don't know. Doesn't sound like a conqueror to just run off and leave his empire," Carter said uncertainly.

"Do you know anything about him before he went into stasis?" Daniel asked.

She nodded. "I know a little. We discovered some ruins on a few scattered planets with ancient texts that referred to him. Every planet we discovered with any mention of him had been completely irradiated long ago, and the Stargates removed," she replied. "It seemed the Goa'Uld wished to erase any proof that Amun-Re had ever been. The evidence suggested the planets had belonged to Amun-Re, and the Goa'Uld destroyed them after he left."

Daniel considered this thoughtfully, taping his fingers against the stock of his P-90 as he mulled it over. The tapping sound echoed eerily in the cramped stairwell. Teal'c stopped and turned to glare at Daniel.

"Sorry bout that," Daniel said sheepishly.

Teal'c nodded and continued on.

"So," Daniel began, "why would they destroy them? Wouldn't they just take his planets over?"

Jolinar nodded her head uncertainly. "We're not exactly sure. From what little we gathered from the texts it seems the inhabitants of those planets were fiercely loyal to him. One text even hinted that he had taken a human, not a Goa'Uld, as his mate. It is possible the other Goa'Uld considered it too much trouble to try and conquer the planets."

All of them stopped in their tracks and turned to Jolinar.

Teal'c pushed Daniel aside gently but firmly and locked Jolinar with a dubious stare. "No Goa'Uld would take a human as a mate. Humans are but slaves to them, vessels to be used and discarded," Teal'c stated firmly.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go with Teal'c on this one," Carter said apologetically.

Jolinar shrugged. "I didn't say I believed it. I'm just saying that is what we learned. Blame Daniel. He translated the texts."

Daniel frowned. "Why does everyone always blame me? It's like blaming Galileo for showing proof the Earth moves around the Sun. Which, consequently he was blamed for that and spent the rest of his life under house arrest, but that's neither here nor there. The point is, don't blame me because my future self properly translated a document," he said excitedly.

Sam tried to stifle a laugh and shook her head in amusement. "That's our Daniel."

"Who's Galileo?" Jolinar asked curiously.

Daniel groaned heavily. "Dear God, what kind of planet are we trying to save!"

"It was just a question," Jolinar grumbled diffidently.

Sam gestured for Teal'c to keep going. They continued on in silence for several minutes.

"Is that all you learned?" Daniel asked finally.

Jolinar was silent.

"Ok, I'm sorry, Jolinar," he said, caving.

Jolinar smiled to herself, and answered him smugly. "No, of course not. The texts speak of Amun-Re as a relentless conqueror but a fair ruler. The texts say it was Amun-Re who kept the wickedness and decadence of the other gods in check," she said, her voice dripping with mockery at such a thought. "We found one text written after Amun-Re's departure. It spoke of the destruction the Goa'Uld unleashed on his former protectorates, and it declared that one day Amun-Re would return to punish the gods for their transgressions."

Daniel was fascinated. If any of this was true it opened an entirely new chapter in the history of the Goa'Uld. "Do you believe any of that?"

Jolinar gave a cold and mirthless chuckle. "Amun-Re took from Vani what it needed most. I believe nothing except that he is the culmination of the Goa'Uld's corruption."

Teal'c stopped suddenly and Daniel bumped into him. Teal'c gave him a glare and then pointed ahead of them with his flashlight. They could see the stairs finally came to an end in a small room with an open archway at the opposite end. There was light coming from the archway. The four of them stepped into the room. Carter motioned to Teal'c and they took up positions on either side of the archway. They scanned the room from their positions while Daniel and Jolinar stood by the stairs.

Sam glanced over at Daniel and gave him a big grin. "I think this is what you were expecting, Daniel."

"I do not see any signs of life, Colonel Carter," Teal'c stated, scanning the room intently.

Carter motioned to him, and the two of them moved into the room. Daniel and Jolinar followed. Daniel tried not to let out a whistle when he walked through the archway into a pyramid shaped room.

"Wow," he said breathlessly.

"Indeed," Teal'c said.

The room had to be nearly three hundred feet across, and the apex of the pyramid towered nearly that same distance above them. The walls and floor of the room were of opaque glass and every inch was covered in a script that resembled Solari, from the floor to the tip of the pyramid. The script was etched in red upon the surface of the glass and gave off a slight glow. A large brazier stood in each of the four corners of the room and burned with a blue flame that gave off no smoke.

In the center of the room was a sarcophagus of clear glass. Three other sarcophagi, each about forty feet from the main one, were placed around the central one in such a way as to form a uniform triangle with the main sarcophagus at its exact center.

"Never have I seen such a place," Teal'c said, gazing around in wonder.

Carter moved forward slowly and the others followed. They passed one of the outer sarcophagi, which was made of a silver metal and resembled a Goa'Uld sarcophagus. A single line of script marked the top of each sarcophagus.

"Daniel," Carter said, gesturing to the script.

Daniel leaned over the sarcophagus and studied the writing. "This looks Solari."

"What?" Jolinar asked in shock and move quickly up beside Daniel. She studied the writing. "It is similar to Solari, an old dialect perhaps. It says 'Adrion, The Fourth.' That means absolutely nothing to me."

Daniel nodded in agreement. "I've never heard the name."

They moved on to the central sarcophagus and could see that someone lay within. Jolinar approached it and looked at the body. It was a young man dressed in simple grays. "This is Amun-Re," she said softly, venomously. If he truly was here then she could not explain her visions.

The other three gathered around the sarcophagus.

"Amun-Re, Sovereign of the Gods, Forgotten of the….," Jolinar leaned closer. "Damn, the last word's been scratched out."

"Now what?" Carter asked, looking around curiously.

"We destroy him," Jolinar said coldly.

Daniel scowled at her and crossed his arms. "Let's not be hasty. He might have information or some use."

The blue armor retreated from Jolinar's head and she glanced at Daniel, menace shining in her eyes and shook her head. She touched the top of the sarcophagus and it quickly dissipated like a mist. She frowned. "He's dead."

"Maybe he's still in stasis," Carter suggested.

Jolinar pointed to a small blue bruise on his neck.

"What is that?" Teal'c asked.

Jolinar sighed. "That is a blast from an advanced Trien weapon."

"How can you be certain?" Teal'c asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It leaves a unique energy trace behind. The blast generally kills instantly, and any person killed by it cannot be revived by a sarcophagus or anything else that we know of," she said. She turned her back on the sarcophagus and leaned against it, thinking. Why would the Trien kill him?

"Maybe he took another host," Carter offered.

Jolinar nodded and turned around. That was possible. She placed her hand just above Amun-Re's head and a beam of blue light emanated from her palm and moved rapidly back and forth across his face. The blue light stopped, and she frowned in dismay. "No, he is in there. We need to take him with us back to the SGC. When Doctor Frasier removes the symbiote I can positively identify it. Amun-Re resembles no other Goa'Uld. We believe he may be a species otherwise extinct."

"Well, you could've mentioned that sooner," Daniel said.

Jolinar gave a low moan, as if in pain, and twined her fingers in her hair. "I do not understand! It makes no sense for the Trien to kill him, and my visions… I… I don't know what's going on," she said, despair and fear on her face. Her face felt suddenly cold.

"Jolinar, are you ok?" Carter asked. Her voice was soft with concern.

Jolinar removed her fingers from her hair. Her hands were wet. She was sweating. Things were unraveling for her. She collapsed to the ground and her body shook violently.

"Temporal seizures!" Carter said as she dropped to her knees beside Jolinar. She grabbed Jolinar's hand, holding it firmly. Jolinar was telling the truth. Carter reached out a hand and stroked her daughter's hair soothingly. Jolinar looked at her, but Sam couldn't tell if she was really aware of what was going on. "Hang on, Jolinar. I'm here."

"Teal'c, can you carry her? Daniel and I will grab Amun-Re," Carter said quickly, glancing up at the Jaffa.

Teal'c nodded and slung the strap of his P-90 over his shoulder. He came over and knelt by Jolinar. Her tremors were subsiding but she seemed to be on the verge of unconsciousness.

Teal'c frowned and looked into Carter's face. His own face softened for a moment. "She does not look well, Colonel Carter. We cannot prevent her death."

Sam bit her lip and nodded.

"Let's get her out of here," Daniel said gently, laying a hand on Sam's shoulder.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

Jack, Janet, four nurses, and extra soldiers were waiting in the gate room when SG-1 came through. They were over half an hour late returning. After their expected return time had passed Hammond had opened the gate and made radio contact. Carter informed him of Jolinar's condition and the deceased guest they were bringing back.

Teal'c immediately laid the still unconscious Jolinar on one of the waiting stretchers. Jack only got a glimpse at her as Frasier and two of the nurses crowded around her and carried her off. She didn't look good. Watching them carry her out of the room reminded Jack of her unexpected appearance just a few days ago. Had it only been that long? Though he'd figured her for dead the first time he'd seen her, she'd made it. This made him less quick to judge this time, but still, he knew it was a false hope.

Daniel and Carter laid Amun-Re on the other waiting cot and the nurses headed with him to the morgue, flanked by four soldiers. If he was as dangerous as Jolinar claimed they weren't taking chances, even if he was dead. Teal'c and Daniel headed off to the infirmary. The gate shut down and Jack dismissed the soldiers, who quickly filed out of the room.

Sam approached Jack. He could see the concern and dread in her face. They had all known this was coming, but they had chosen to ignore it until it reared its ugly head. Jolinar was dying. "I don't think she has long, Jack," she said, in barely a whisper.

Jack grimaced, as if he'd been stung. "We'll take her with us. Maybe the Solari can think of something."

Sam started to argue, nothing could stop this, but she held her tongue. "Ok, Jack."

Jack gave a weak smile and headed out of the room. She followed after him. They walked to the infirmary in silence. This was one reason she'd been so harsh and distant with Jolinar at times. She'd known that if Jolinar was telling the truth, this was how it had to end eventually. In the infirmary Teal'c, Daniel, and Janet were gathered around Jolinar's bed. They had hooked Jolinar up to an IV, but it couldn't really be anything more than a painkiller or sedative. There was no medicine that could help her.

Jack gave a soft sigh as he looked at the scene of his friends gathered around her bed. He glanced at Sam. "We've had to come here far too often these past few days." First had been Jolinar, then Daniel, then Daniel again and now Jolinar again, laying there helpless and dying.

Sam reached over and took Jack's hand in hers, leading him over to the bed. Teal'c and Daniel were talking quietly but grew silent when Sam and Jack approached. Janet was talking with Jolinar. She was at least conscious. She gave Jack and Sam a sad smile. Janet turned her back on Jolinar to look at Jack and Sam, giving them a subtle shake of her head, her face conveying to them what they already knew. Janet gave Sam's forearm a squeeze then stepped over beside Daniel.

"Hey, Jolie, you had us all worried," Jack said, forcing a grin for her sake.

"How do you feel?" Sam asked, clasping Jolinar's hand gently.

Jolinar closed her eyes and grimaced. "Not so good. I've never felt anything like this. All my advanced technology means nothing. I can't die yet… not yet. Please, Janet, you have to get the symbiote. I have to see," she pleaded, her green eyes locking with Janet's brown ones.

Janet regarded Jolinar with a compassionate smile. "You need to rest," she said, conjuring up her 'doctor's orders' tone.

Jack nodded his head and laid a hand on the top of her head, gently stroking her sweat-soaked hair. "Don't worry about that, Jolie. Doctor Frasier is right. You need to rest. Amun-Re is dead. You saw his body."

"No! I have to see!" She screamed, her voice breaking with pain. Her body shook with a seizure and her right arm flailed out, striking the IV stand, forcing it to rip the needle from her arm as the stand went careening into the wall.

"Help me, Teal'c!" Jack said as he bent over Jolinar attempting to hold her steady. Janet and Sam quickly stepped back as Teal'c and Daniel grabbed a hold of the thrashing Jolinar. A male nurse rushed over to help them, while another approached Janet and looked to her for instruction.

"Get security down here," Janet instructed the nurse, who nodded and quickly ran to the phone.

Sam watched fearfully and then turned her back, covering her face with her hands, trying to calm herself. Janet came quickly to her side, sliding an arm about her shoulders. She could feel Sam shaking. They both turned when they heard Jolinar scream again. The four men were sweating and straining their muscles to hold her.

"Damn, she's strong," Jack grunted.

"Tes miri ay vas mer atec tiri coser!" She screamed viciously, struggling against those who held her. The blue armor was randomly expanding and retracting rapidly from all of her implants.

Jack glanced at Daniel.

"It sounds Solari, Jack. I haven't a clue other than that," Daniel said apologetically as he struggled to hold her legs still.

"She's delusional, Jack. She's not in control," Carter said, choking on her tears.

"Doc, have you got anything at all?" Jack snapped.

"Jack, I've given her sedatives already. There's no medicine for this," Janet replied helplessly.

Four soldiers rushed into the infirmary and surrounded the bed, weapons drawn.

"Damn it! Put your weapons away and help us here!" Jack snarled, locking the soldiers with an angry glare.

The soldiers glanced uneasily at the young woman then quickly holstered their weapons. One moved to help Daniel and the nurse hold her legs while another joined Jack in pining one of her arms down.

Jack looked at Janet. "Can we move her, Doc?"

Janet raised a questioning eyebrow. "Where to? There's nothing that can be done."

"Maybe the Solari can help," Jack said hopefully. He glanced at the two remaining soldiers. "Get up to the control room. Tell General Hammond I need the Solari base dialed up now!"

The soldiers saluted and ran to carry out his order.

Jolinar's left leg jerked free and her knee slammed forcefully into Daniel's forehead. Her foot then caught the soldier squarely in the temple. They both slumped to the floor, out cold. Janet and Carter ran over and dragged Daniel and the soldier away from the fracas. Carter ran back to the bed to help the nurse, who was now struggling to hold both her legs.

"How long can she keep this up? She's got to be exhausted!" The nurse groaned.

"Her body isn't like ours. She has far more energy," Carter replied. Damn, if only they could figure out how these stupid implants worked.

"You ok over there, Teal'c?" Jack asked, his face red with strain.

Teal'c gave an affirmative nod, though Jack could see she was testing even the large Jaffa. "Your daughter must be a formidable warrior, O'Neill."

The tremors began to subside, but they continued to keep a firm grip on her. Jack reached one hand tentatively to cup her sweat-covered cheek and looked into her eyes.

"Jolie," he said softly, "hold on. Don't you die on me."

Her glazed eyes stared at him, and he wasn't sure if she understood until she gave a small grin. Sam reached up and took one of Jolinar's hands in hers. Jolinar squeezed her mother's hand faintly.

Janet and a nurse had succeeded in getting Daniel awake and on his feet. They came over to her beside.

Jolinar saw the nasty bump forming on Daniel's forehead. Her green eyes looked at him, full of sadness. "Did I do that?" She said. She blinked away some tears. "I'm so sorry."

Daniel shook his head, assuring her. "It wasn't your fault, Jolinar."

"We're taking you to the Solari," Jack said.

She blinked a few times then closed her eyes wearily. "I can't walk. Will you help me?" She asked dejectedly, her voice barely audible.

"That will not be necessary, Jolinar. You must save your strength. We will carry you," Teal'c said with a tone of respect.

She opened her eyes and looked at Teal'c.

Jack stroked Jolinar's cheek. "How can you argue with that face, Jolie?"


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

They had rushed Jolinar to the Solari base as quickly as they could. Sol Baelon walked into the room the moment they came through the gate.

"We need some help here," Jack said impatiently.

Jack and Teal'c approached Sol Baelon, carrying Jolinar between them on a stretcher. Daniel, Sam, and Janet were close on their heels.

Jolinar's face was deathly pale, and her skin shone with a patina of sweat. Her lips trembled. "You cannot help me, Baelon," she said simply. "Even the Solari of my time cannot fix temporal cascade failure."

Sol Baelon knelt down by Jolinar. He could see the girl was very weak. He touched his hand to Jolinar's cheek tenderly. "Yes, we have no cure for temporal seizures, Jolinar."

"I know," Jolinar replied quietly. "Try telling my Dad that though."

Sol Baelon gave her an understanding smile and stood up. "There is nothing I can do."

"No, there is something. Just think harder," Jack snapped.

K'sal entered the room, and with a muttered curse Jolinar rolled off the cot onto her hands and knees. Teal'c dropped the cot and reached down for her. Jack looked at her curiously. She grabbed Teal'c's arm, and he helped her stand. She leaned on him heavily and glared at K'sal.

"I know what you are, K'sal," Jolinar stated coldly. She focused all her strength and forced her blue armor to begin expanding from her left wrist and over her hand. She raised her hand toward K'sal. K'sal did not flinch, merely watched Jolinar intently.

Sol Baelon glanced at K'sal and Jolinar uncertainly.

K'sal regarded Jolinar with pity. "You can't stop it, Jolinar. I regret that you must die here. I have no desire for anyone to die, but Sol Baelon and his emperor leaves us with little choice. The Trien are too powerful for you, and you do not have the strength anymore or even the will to face Amun-Re." She smiled knowingly.

Jolinar frowned. She did not like what K'sal was implying, nor did she completely understand K'sal's obvious sorrow at the situation.

"Well, fortunately Amun-Re is dead," Jack said with smile.

K'sal smirked and nodded her head. "In a manner. I'm sorry your planet has been dragged into this, but it is too late now."

"Too late for what?" Daniel asked.

Jolinar appeared thoughtful. Trying to concentrate was making her head throb, but she had to sort this out. "The Trien killed him in this time so that…," Jolinar couldn't finish the thought. She clung to Teal'c's arm to steady herself. Carter moved up beside her, supporting her other arm.

Daniel scowled. "So that the future, the more powerful, Amun-Re could come back to this time. Your visions weren't wrong, Jolinar. Amun-Re was in stasis, but he was also here."

Jolinar bit her lip and fought back her tears. It couldn't be. She couldn't bear to tell them what that would mean. Then a thought struck her. "No, it can't be. He would have destroyed himself if he came here and killed his past self. Unless… it was only his voice I heard. He may have commanded Anubis from the Ardai's dimension."

"What have you done, K'sal?" Sol Baelon demanded. Blue armor like Jolinar's spread rapidly from his wrist over his hand. He raised his hand, an energy bolt forming from the palm of his armor.

"I'm done fighting your war for you, Baelon," K'sal replied coldly and dropped a small black cube from her hand, and it landed at her feet. The cube exploded into a glowing vortex of blue energy that completely enveloped K'sal.

Sol Baelon fired several rapid energy blasts, but they passed into the vortex and seemed to dissipate.

"No!" Jolinar shouted furiously and ran toward the vortex. She had to know what K'sal knew. That was their only hope if Amun-Re had truly come back also, and maybe, just maybe, K'sal knew about Ian.

Teal'c attempted to grab her, but her sudden movement in her weak state was completely unexpected. "Jolinar!" Teal'c shouted after her.

They all watched in shock as she ran toward the dissipating energy field. Teal'c ran after her. She pushed Jack out of her way, knocking him on his back, and leapt into the vortex. Teal'c followed her in. He would not abandon the daughter of his closest friend.

The vortex vanished. Teal'c, Jolinar, and K'sal were gone.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapters 1, 2, 29, and 32 are completely new. 1 and 2 added in more backstory about Jolinar to help make it clearer. 29 and 32 are mostly fluff.

Sorry for all the repostings, but I needed to do some revisions. Here's a quick summary of what's new.

Sol Tyr has been replaced with a male Solari, Sol Baelon.

Janet receives an implant from Jolinar, along with Sam, Jack, Sam, and Teal'c.

The walls of the pyramid in which Amun-Re is buried are covered in Solari script, not Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The Ketarans have been replaced with the Trien.

Those are the major changes that I can recall, most everything else was minor corrections, minor scenes, etc.

Please read and review!

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**Chapter 41**

Sam ran over and helped Jack to his feet, checking to make sure he was ok. He groaned and stretched his back. He glared at Sol Baelon in a way that let him know he was holding him directly responsible for this.

Jack walked over to Baelon. "Where the hell did they go?" Jack shouted, shoving his forefinger into Baelon's chest.

Janet and Daniel stood openmouthed and glanced at each other worriedly. It had all happened too quickly for any of them to react.

"That was an Ardai dimensional rift device. They use them for emergency escapes," Baelon replied. He couldn't believe he'd not seen K'sal was a traitor and had let her get away.

"You're saying it gated them to another dimension?" Carter asked. "That's amazing."

"To the Ardai's dimension, yes. Our ancestral home," he replied.

"So, let's go after them," Jack said, walking towards the gate. "Come on dial it up."

Baelon frowned and shook his head. "Unfortunately, we have more pressing matters, but I promise I will dispatch a covert team immediately to attempt to locate them. We must act quickly. I am aware that Anubis is coming. Your time is running out. I do not know if Amun-Re is able to control Anubis any longer."

"I am not abandoning Jolinar and Teal'c just like that!" Jack snapped furiously, clenching his hands. "Damn Amun-Re and damn Anubis!"

"Would you also condemn Earth?" Baelon asked with a calculating stare.

Jack clenched his fists and fought the urge to yell at him again. He failed. "Don't you turn this on me! This is your damn fault!"

Janet approached Jack and laid a hand on his shoulder. She looked up into his face. "It saved her life, Jack," she said gently.

Jack took a deep breath and looked at her questioningly.

Janet sighed. "Jolinar was nearly dead, Sir. If she's in another dimension she should no longer suffer from the temporal cascade failure."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's true. But we know nothing about that place. That place could be worse than dying."

"Teal'c will do all he can to protect her, Sam," Janet said reassuringly.

"The Ardai shouldn't hurt them if Teal'c and Jolinar don't give them cause," Baelon said reluctantly.

Jack arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Excuse me? I thought you said they were an 'ancient menace.'"

"Yeah, you made these guys sound not so nice," Daniel said. "I mean they're helping the Goa'Uld…"

Sol Baelon looked away from them and sighed heavily. "The situation with the Ardai is… complex."

"Ah," Jack said with a tense smile. This didn't sound very promising.

"Might it have something do with why there was something similar to Solari writing in the chamber of Amun-Re?" Daniel asked bluntly.

"Are you telling me Amun-Re is Solari?" Jack said, throwing up his hands in frustration.

"No, he is not. I assure you of that," Sol Baelon replied firmly.

"Ok, you need to explain to me what's going on here and tell me what you know," Jack said coldly. "Otherwise we're out of here."

Sol Baelon nodded tersely. "Follow me."

He led them to the same glass room and they took their seats around the table.

Sol Baelon looked at Jack, embarrassment on his face. "I am sorry, Colonel…"

"It's General now," Jack interrupted, pointing to the star on his shoulder. "They told me I couldn't take over your little base if I was just a colonel."

"Congratulations. I also take that to mean you have accepted our treaty," he replied with satisfaction.

"Well, we had planned on it." Jack shrugged his shoulders uncertainly. "Now, it depends what you've got to say about all this."

Daniel pulled out a notepad and pencil and began to write, his face scrunched up in concentration.

"The Solari Empire is powerful, General O'Neill, but it is not without its problems," Sol Baelon began. "As I explained, there are only about five thousand Solari left who are not native to this dimension. As these five thousand Solari are the oldest and wisest they hold most positions of power."

Daniel glanced up from his writing. "Are you saying you have a caste system? Solari native to this dimension are considered inferior?"

Sol Baelon frowned at Daniel, revolted at the accusation. "I find that suggestion offensive. We are a very advanced race, Doctor Jackson. Certainly, there are some who feel that way, but the majority of us consider us all equal. The Solari of this dimension are our children. They are still Solari. However, there are some Solari who have a different view. They view us, natives of the old world, as nothing but echoes of a bygone era. They do not support a return to our home dimension, because they feel this is now our home dimension."

"That's why K'sal said she wouldn't fight your way anymore. She doesn't want to go back," Janet said.

"That's also why I can't convince the emperor to go to war against the Goa'Uld. If we start another war and more people believe it is unnecessary, there could be some serious fallout."

Jack nodded vaguely then leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "You know that the Ardai are going to give advanced technology to the Goa'Uld at some point. Hell, this Amun-Re, if he's from the future who knows what he can do. You need to strike the Goa'Uld, at least deal them a blow, before they become more powerful."

Sol Baelon sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. He held his hands up helplessly. "I agree with you. Unfortunately that decision is not mine."

Daniel began chewing the end of his pencil, carefully studying what he had been writing.

"Anubis is going to destroy our planet if you do nothing," Carter said flatly.

"Anubis is looking for Jolinar. That is his priority. Amun-Re will quickly discover she is no longer on Earth and will force Anubis to withdraw, if he can."

Carter shook her head. "I don't think so. Amun-Re could just destroy us now so that we don't become a hassle to him in the future."

"Umm, what do you mean 'if he can'?" Jack pressed.

"Anubis is not like other Goa'Uld anymore. I don't know how much Amun-Re can exert control over him," Sol Baelon explained.

Daniel looked up suddenly and tapped his notebook against the table and gaining everyone's attention. "Hi, sorry. Could you translate this?" He read off the phrase he'd been searching his mind for, what Jolinar had screamed out in the infirmary.

"Yes, 'Bring me the one, who took my father,'" Sol Baelon replied. "I'm sorry. Where did that come from?"

"Jolinar," Jack replied softly. "So, I'm dead in the future. That's just great."

Daniel turned the translation over in his mind, trying to fit all the pieces together of what he'd learned from the Solari and Jolinar these past few days. This all fit together somehow. He had to figure it out before it was too late.

"Do you know how he is able to control the Goa'Uld?" Janet asked.

"It's complicated," he replied. "Amun-Re is… well, he's not Goa'Uld."

"Oh," Carter said. "Well, that's news. What is he?"

"His true name is Adrion. He was once a creature of pure consciousness," Sol Baelon explained.

Confusion covered Jack's face. "Huh?"

Daniel sat up straighter and tapped his pencil on the table. "Uh, Adrion?"

Baelon sighed impatiently. "The base is prepared, General. I will give you the coordinates. You will need to evacuate as many people as you can or need before Anubis arrives. Just in case Amun-Re cannot force him to withdraw. Due to his unique nature it is possible that Amun-Re cannot completely control him."

"No, no, no. You just keep explaining things," Jack insisted. "You obviously know a hell of a lot more than you've let on. Hell, you know more than Jolinar."

"It doesn't matter," Daniel said. "If Amun-Re is here from the future, then he already knows the location of Vani. He'll take out Earth and then he'll take out Vani next."

"Jolinar said it was the Trien who killed Amun-Re in this time while Amun-Re was with the Ardai. They're already helping the Goa'Uld. They've helped Amun-Re to come back. You can't just ignore that," Carter argued.

Sol Baelon frowned and seemed to be conflicted. He obviously wanted to tell them something.

"Oh, God, just tell us," O'Neill said with irritation.

"Amun-Re has no desire to destroy Earth or Vani. Amun-Re conquers. He doesn't destroy for the sake of destroying. I believe he seeks an end to the system lords."

Everyone looked at Sol Baelon skeptically. That didn't make any sense to any of them.

"Why would a Goa'Uld that is able to control all others wish to destroy the source of his power?" Teal'c asked.

"I told you! He's not a Goa'Uld," Sol Baelon snapped. "And it is a long and complicated story."

An image of Earth flashed into Daniel's mind and then several bright flashes scattered around the planet burned themselves in his mind. Janet saw his face go pale, and he shut his eyes tight.

"Oma," he said softly, as if he were talking to someone.

"Daniel?" She asked worriedly, grabbing his hand.

He squeezed her hand. "We need to do what Sol Baelon says. I have to get back to Earth," he said, looking at Jack. "Now, Jack."

"Maybe you should come with us. This little chat of ours doesn't look like it's even close to being over," Jack said to Sol Baelon.

He bowed his head. "We'll take the Aderus."


	42. Chapter 42

**Ok, all chapters have been revised. Some revisions were minor, some major. **

**Chapters 1,2,29,32 are completely brand new. For a summary of changes, check out chapter 41.**

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**Chapter 42**

None of them had the slightest idea what the Aderus was until seconds later when they found themselves instantly teleported to its bridge with an amazing view looking down on the planet

Jack huffed and crossed his arms, glaring at Sol Baelon. "Seriously, how many times do I have to tell you people to warn us before you do that?"

"Time is important, General," Baelon replied evenly.

The others were all staring around in shock, though Carter's expression was more akin to fascination or even delight than shock.

The hull of the ship seemed to be constructed out of the same dark blue metal as the Solari Stargate. It was a metal, Carter quickly decided, she needed to find out more about. The bridge was circular in shape and nearly sixty feet in diameter. The rear half of the bridge was five feet higher than the forward deck with a set of narrow stairs at each end leading down to the foredeck of the bridge. The bridge's forward bulkhead was a window over thirty feet from end to end and ten feet high, which afforded them the aforementioned view of the planet. Four pedestals with sheets of glass attached to the top featuring a plethora of displays were spaced evenly on the foredeck. The rear half of the bridge featured a large chair forward center, the only one on the bridge. Behind the chair, near the curving walls were three more pedestals on each side. An open archway at the very back offered the only visible exit.

All ten stations were manned, and the attendant Solari nodded respectfully to Sol Baelon as he took his seat. Once he took his seat several holographic displays appeared to his left and right. He glanced quickly at the displays and then nodded to his guests.

"I see there's only one chair," Jack said smugly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Baelon nodded. "This is a ship of war, O'Neill. The officers on this bridge need to be able to move quickly to different stations."

Jack nodded and scratched his chin. "Makes sense. But you get to sit?"

"The commander of a ship must offer stability to the crew. My place is here, in command," he replied.

Carter was still glancing around in awe. "This is amazing. I'd love to see more of it. What type of engines do you use?"

Sol Baelon gave a slight laugh. "You will learn in time, Major Carter."

"Colonel Carter," Jack corrected him, glancing at his former teammate with pride.

"So, about getting to Earth. Wouldn't the Stargate have been faster?" Daniel asked.

Sol Baelon spouted off what they assumed were orders in Solari, and they all watched through the window as the planet slipped from view. "We'll arrive in plenty of time, Doctor Jackson. Anubis is being forced to rethink his strategy."

"Why's that?" Janet asked curiously, looking away from the window to Sol Tyr.

"You'll see very soon," Baelon replied.

Janet's attention was drawn back to the window when the entire bridge became suddenly bathed in a soft blue light. Swirling ribbons of blue and black energy lay just beyond the window. It was almost mesmerizing.

Baelon shouted out more orders, and Sam watched the Solari rapidly manipulating the displays on their respective screens. A computerized voice filled the bridge with a message in Solari and continued to repeat it.

"Red alert?" Jack asked.

Baelon gave Jack a questioning glance. "Red alert? No, it is alerting everyone to prepare for battle."

Jack raised a questioning eyebrow. "You said you wouldn't fight."

He affirmed that with a nod. "However, if Anubis fires upon this ship, I will defend it fiercely, and I dare anyone in the empire to accuse me for defending my own ship."

"I don't think you know Anubis well, Sol Baelon," Carter said, walking closer to him. "He's certain to att…," she stopped short and smiled knowingly.

Sol Baelon returned the smile and then looked forward through the window. "We are entering your solar system."

Carter looked agape at Tyr. "That was… fast."

Baelon manipulated a small touch display on the arm of his chair. A large section of the window turned opaque and a view of Earth appeared on it. The view quickly zoomed closer and clearly showed several clusters of ships in orbit. Another section of the window turned opaque and four different views appeared.

"Oh, wow," Daniel whispered.

"That's… impressive," Jack said with a shake of his head, glancing at the different ships.

The first section of the glass was a distant view that showed four ships near Earth. Two other groups of ships kept a distance from the planet. The remaining three views were zoomed in views of each group of ships. The four ships near the planet were Asgard. One of the groups was a large mother ship, the likes of which they'd never seen, surrounded by six ha'taks. The third group featured two large black ships, similar in design to a submarine. Those two flanked an even larger ship.

"That isn't all," Baelon said. "Long range scans detect eleven more ha'taks en route."

Janet's face grew pale, and she reached for Daniel's hand. He took her hand tightly in his own and gave her an uneasy smile. She was worried about Cassie, and so was he, not to mention the fate of the planet.

Carter crossed her arms as she studied the screens, working over the possibilities as rapidly as she could. "What are those ships?" She asked, pointing to the three black ones.

"Trien warships. The two smaller ones are cruiser class, formidable ships. The larger one is a battleship. I haven't seen a Trien ship in ages and never in this dimension. Trien are supposed to be extinct," Tyr replied, puzzlement apparent in his voice. He shouted some more orders, and then stood to go stand by Jack. "Four Asgard ships are not enough if all those ships ally against them."

"Then help them!" Jack barked. "They saved your asses."

"Do you have any more ships nearby? Maybe just showing up would give the Goa'Uld second thoughts," Daniel suggested.

Baelon nodded. "I have ordered the rest of my battle group, five other ships, to rendezvous with us at Earth."

A Solari at one of the rear stations spoke to Baelon and he nodded.

"We are being hailed," Baelon said quietly. "They shouldn't be able to detect us."

Jack grimaced and gave a fake smile. "Yeah, stuff like that happens to us all the time."

An image appeared on the screen showing, apparently the bridge of another ship. The alien bridge was black and dark. Someone stood in the shadows, just beyond the edge of what little light there was.

"I am Sol Baelon, commander of the Solari Imperial Military. Identify yourself," he said calmly, coldly.

"You know me, Baelon. I am Adrion, or Amun-Re to these pathetic Goa'Uld," a very Goa'Uld sounding voice replied. "Do you have the woman Jolinar?"

"None of your damn business," Jack snapped.

Adrion gave a soft laugh. "Jack O'Neill, it is good to see you. I owe you much, but I require Jolinar. She must not fall into the hands of Anubis."

"So, you can't control Anubis?" Daniel asked, stepping nearer to the screen, Janet clinging to his hand.

"Not completely. He is far stronger than I predicted. I may be forced to destroy him," Adrion replied thoughtfully.

"I won't let you become powerful again, Adrion," Baelon said menacingly.

"You're too late for that, Baelon," he replied.

Adrion stepped forward into the light, a roguish grin creeping across his lips, a grin SG-1 knew well. They all stared at him, speechless. Sam clutched Jack's arm as much to steady him as herself. Janet looked away, and Daniel slipped his arm around her.

"Damn," Jack said breathlessly, staring at the screen.

"'The one who took my father," Daniel whispered, cursing himself for his blindness.

There on the screen was a young, dark-haired Jack O'Neill.

"Welcome to your future, Jack," Adrion said simply.


	43. Chapter 43

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while, major computer troubles. Also sorry this update is so short, more coming soon, I just wanted to post something so you'd know I hadn't abandoned this fic.**

**This chapter 43 replaces one I previously posted in which Jolinar and Ian reunited, scratch that out of your head. Ian and Jolinar have not been reunited.****

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**Chapter 43**

Jack stepped closer to the screen, keeping his hard eyes locked on Adrion. "You've got only three ships. Anubis has a lot more with more on the way. What do you want here?"

"Checkmate, Jack," Adrion replied.

Jack groaned. "So we're playing chess now? Cause I have to say that chess really isn't my strong suit. Couldn't we settle this over poker? Darts? I think Daniel has Yahtzee." He glanced at Daniel questioningly. "Yahtzee right? Or was it Hungry Hungry Hippos?"

Daniel smiled uneasily. "Uh, I play chess, Jack."

Jack tapped his forehead with his finger. "That's right. You're a science geek. I should've remembered that." He turned back to Adrion. "Well, there you are. Daniel will play chess with you."

Sol Baelon snapped something in Solari and then approached Jack. "Don't exacerbate the situation with your antics, General."

"I'd never dream of it." Jack smiled.

"I have no interest in Daniel or you, Jack," Adrion said, drawing Jack and Baelon's attention back to him. "For thousands of years the Solari have been moving and positioning themselves. They've manipulated past, present, and future as they chose. We are now at the fulcrum. The corruption of the Solari cannot be allowed to continue. I'm sorry that they've blinded you with their lies, Jack."

"I see, and I should trust you. A Goa'Uld," Jack replied mockingly.

Adrion spread his hands in a gesture of deference and bowed his head to Jack. "Khonsu," he said and the screen went dark.

"Khonsu?" Jack muttered. "What the hell does that mean?" He asked as he turned to Daniel.

Daniel shrugged. "No idea, Jack."

"I know," Carter said. "He's a Tok'ra. Jolinar of Malkshur knew him."

"Ok, and that has what bearing on this?" Jack asked.

Carter looked at him helplessly.

One of the Solari spoke quickly to Sol Baelon. Jack narrowed his eyes and glanced at Carter as he realized he'd understood some of what the Solari officer had said.

"What?" Carter mouthed silently.

Jack just shook his head and turned back to Baelon.

"We're intercepting at transmission from Anubis to one of the ha'taks," Baelon explained. "He's ordering the commander of the ha'tak, Khonsu, to destroy Stargate Command."


End file.
